


Before the Winter Snow

by penstrikesmidnight



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Angst with a Happy Ending, Inspired by Frozen (Disney Movies), M/M, Magic, Marriage, Norwegian Mythology & Folklore, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Quests, i can't believe that's actually a tag but i love it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24856159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penstrikesmidnight/pseuds/penstrikesmidnight
Summary: Hajime has always admired that Tooru is fine with the fact that he hasn't gone on any death-defying, self-discovering journeys like Hajime has. After all, he already has magic running through his veins. But as magic begins to shift, as things start to become more unstable, Tooru is hearing a call that he may not be able to resist. Hajime watches this change and realizes, maybe the best thing you can do for someone you love is let them go.If only things were that simple.A tale of beginnings and endings, and discovering what happily ever after truly means.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17
Collections: HQ Mini Bang





	Before the Winter Snow

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, this has been a labor of love, and I'm so glad I finally get to start sharing it! This was written for the HQ Mini Bang. Art was done by the amazing [Tonyo](https://twitter.com/98_TONYO) and it captures the feeling of the piece beautifully! Check it out on [twitter](https://twitter.com/98_TONYO/status/1274950351699849221)! Thanks also to [Froochies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/darling_dontworry) for betaing, as well as [Starofbright](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starofbright).
> 
> This fic will have three parts that all relatively stand alone, but build on each other. While I did take a lot of inspiration from Scandinavian/Norwegian/Viking folklore and tradition, this is very much a work of my imagination and can be set here in this world or in another, as with most fairy tales. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Once there were two boys who lived in a small village in a tucked-away vale who could not be more different. Hajime came from a no-nonsense family rooted in tradition and honor, while Tooru blew in with a single mother who lived under mysterious circumstances and sometimes laid down in the snow to nap.

Hajime met Tooru on his way home from church one Sunday afternoon. Hajime was dressed in his Sunday finest, which pinched in all the wrong places and made him itch all over. His favorite part of Sunday was the half-hour walk to and from the pretty wooden church, which, to Hajime, looked like two houses stacked on top of one very big one.

Usually, Hajime’s parents walked a little ways ahead of him with their closest neighbors, who were very old and had no children Hajime’s age. Hajime found them much more boring than the rocks he found on the side of the road or the bugs that flitted among the wildflowers come summertime, so he tended to meander on their way home. 

Today was no different. A chilly autumn breeze danced among the leaves, a hint of the snowy season fast approaching. Hajime loved this time of year. The harvest was drawing to a close and farmers were out from predawn until dusk, preparing for the long, cruel winter ahead. But winter also brought festivals and Christmas and snow and, sometimes, Hajime could swear he glimpsed the snow maidens proclaiming the worst storms of the season.

It was a time of change, harsh and beautiful, before a time of renewal, and, even at the young age of eight, Hajime embraced it.

Hajime glanced at his parents’ backs. His mother stood tall in her simple blue dress next to his father, who was dressed in clothes similar to Hajime’s. He slowed, watching as they became specks in the distance. Hajime knew from experience his parents allowed him out until sunset before he got scolded for wandering away.

“What are you looking for?”

Hajime glanced up, startled, when he heard the high-pitched voice next to him. He scowled at the boy who had taken residence by his side without his knowledge. His hair was the brown of fresh-turned soil, his skin white like the flesh of an apple. He smiled at Hajime, and his nose wrinkled slightly with the gesture.

“Who are you?” Hajime asked.

“Tooru. You didn’t answer my question. What are you looking for?”

Hajime shrugged. He hadn’t been searching for anything, really, just looking for the sake of looking. “Troll footprints,” he finally answered.

Tooru’s eyes lit up. “I _knew_ there was a troll that lived in the river! C’mon, let’s go! Um, what is your name?”

Hajime studied him uncertainly, but Tooru’s eyes were so big and eager he could not resist saying, “Hajime. But I can’t be out late. I have to get home or my mother will be upset and I’ll have to do extra chores.”

Tooru nodded, face solemn. “We will only scout now, and when we gather enough information, we can really go hunting. Besides, you aren’t old enough to go on a quest yet.”

“I never said I wanted to go on a quest,” Hajime said with a frown.

Tooru reached out and pressed his finger against Hajime’s forehead. Hajime was so surprised his frown fell off of his face, replaced with a look of wonder. Tooru smiled. “You look better when you are not frowning. And you’ll definitely go on a quest, Hajime, you seem like just the type of person! Now, let’s get started before you have to go home!”

With that, Tooru scampered down the small embankment. Hajime stayed up on the road for a few breaths before following Tooru down. And that was how Hajime found himself following Tooru the first time, and for years to come.

***

Hajime’s and Tooru’s friendship was not without its pitfalls. The first and biggest concern was Hajime’s parents. As upright, God-fearing folk, Tooru’s innate connection with nature and his unbridled curiosity were foreign, unsatisfactory characteristics in a friend for their son. But as Tooru’s mother became ill with an undetermined sickness that left her bedridden and delirious most days, their charitable sensibilities overpowered their prejudices, and Tooru found himself ushered into their Christian hearts with hesitant but open arms.

It was at the age of fourteen when Tooru finally told Hajime just how truly different he was from everyone else in the village. “You have to promise you won’t tell anyone,” Tooru said when the two of them escaped into the copse of trees that grew between their properties, a few acres away from the mountain, past the Iwaizumi farmland and orchards. As they grew older and each had more time-consuming responsibilities—Hajime on his family farm and Tooru’s apprenticeship with the shoemaker—moments together were fleeting and special to Hajime. This place between their homes, more than any other, was where Hajime and Tooru’s friendship solidified, becoming something bigger and more important than the petty arguments or awkward comfort of childhood. This was a sanctuary where Hajime felt like he could show Tooru who he really was, and hoped Tooru felt the same.

“I promise,” Hajime said of Tooru’s request. He felt as if he were standing on the top of a fjord, looking down into the pretty water. He was ready to jump.

Tooru took a deep breath. He was all gangly legs and arms at the age of fourteen, his body trying to grow itself into proper manhood. Soon, he would be taller than Hajime. “It’s not...I’m not different. I just...listen. To the wind, to the water. They tell me things, Hajime.”

“Tell you what?” Hajime asked, his curiosity piqued. He remembered the first time he had met Tooru, following him as he followed the stream. Hajime recalled how Tooru had stared hard at the water, nose wrinkled as if he were trying to read words he had just learned. “That day. The first day. Did the river tell you there was a troll there?”

“Ah,” Tooru said with a self-conscious smile. “At some point in time a troll had lived under a very old bridge that is long gone.”

Hajime looked at the trees, watching the leaves rustle in the soft breeze of the falling night. “And the wind?”

Tooru hummed, his eyes lit with excitement. “The wind is different. The water, it tells of the past, but the wind shares where it has been before. It tells amazing stories, of giants and heroes and _dragons_!”

Maybe it was the setting, the soft light filtering through the deep green leaves of late summer, or the way the sun hit Tooru’s hair, highlighting the red undertones and making him all the more the wild creature he claimed himself to be. Whatever it was, Hajime couldn’t resist the urge to reach up, brush his fingers against Tooru’s porcelain skin. The only thing that marred his doll-like face were the freckles, sprinkling across his nose and cheekbones, only visible in the peak of summer. Hajime was fascinated by them, wanted to memorize them so even in the cold months he could imagine them there.

Tooru pressed his cheek to Hajime’s palm, his smile dropping off his face, replaced with an intense seriousness Hajime had only seen when Tooru was concentrating on his next stitch in a finely made fabric. Hajime suddenly felt self-conscious of the roughness of his hands, the dirt under his fingernails, his sun-weathered skin. He felt as if he were trying to capture snowflakes. A daunting, hopeless task.

Hajime started to withdraw his hand, but Tooru reached up, threading his fingers between Hajime’s. “You are my hero, Hajime. If you want to be.”

Hajime leaned toward Tooru, waiting for Tooru to pull away from him. He stayed still, mouth parting slightly. 

Tooru’s lips tasted of the apple he had plucked from the orchards on the way here. Hajime pushed himself forward, clumsy, wanting to taste more, taste everything that Tooru could give him. Tooru giggled when they broke away.

“Eager Hajime,” he whispered. “Naughty Hajime.”

Hajime pulled farther away so he could see Tooru’s eyes, sparkling with mischief, but Tooru didn’t release his hand.

“You didn’t say no,” Hajime said.

Tooru shook his head no. “I would never say no to you. You...You really don’t mind that I can do those things?”

A sweep of wind blew through the trees. The leaves rustled cheerfully, the grass tickling Hajime’s ankles under his pant leg. Tooru’s eyes flicked upward, and Hajime watched, fascinated, as Tooru tracked the wind’s invisible progress. Pieces of a very strange story aligned quite suddenly--Tooru’s fondness for walking in water barefooted, his distant, dreamy expression that looked as if he were seeing something fascinating, visible only to him.

“Why would I mind?” Hajime asked. “All of those things are a part of you, and there is no part of you that I do not love.”

Tooru’s eyes widened. Hajime pressed his lips together. He could feel the heat creeping up his neck, curling onto his cheeks, settling into his skin. But he didn’t look away from Tooru’s bark-brown eyes. 

“There are parts of me that scare me, though,” Tooru said, his voice barely louder than the wind. 

“And we can work on those together,” Hajime said firmly. Tooru’s easy smile slipped back onto his face, and Hajime followed him out of the clearing, back to his home for dinner.

***

It was two years later when Tooru started sleepwalking. Hajime remembered a time when they were ten, when he had stayed at Tooru’s house overnight because of a sudden and unexpected snowstorm. Tooru had walked to the window and stared out, waking Hajime with the sudden lack of warmth by his side. At the time, Hajime had assumed Tooru had been looking at something. When he went to ask Tooru what was happening, Tooru had blinked a few times, glanced around in confusion, then told Hajime he was going to bed. It had been a very strange, slightly alarming moment that Hajime had never thought about again. Until now. 

The sleepwalking started innocent enough. Sometimes, Hajime would find Tooru curled on the floor next to the fireplace, or woke up with half of Tooru’s body draped over him. Other times, Hajime would startle awake to a fresh breeze on his face from the window Tooru had opened, and, once, he had chased Tooru down into the fields behind the house. As soon as Hajime touched Tooru, he had woken up, sinking to his knees, shaking. 

“What do you see?” Hajime asked him softly as they knelt in the tall wheat, the last of the harvest. Tooru buried himself in Hajime’s body. Hajime held him tightly, trying to will away Tooru’s shaking. He wondered if Tooru were cold, or frightened, or both.

“Nothing,” Tooru whispered. “I don’t remember. It’s just...a pull. A...longing. It’s not usually this powerful. But I don’t want to leave, Hajime. I want to be here, with you.”

“I won’t make you leave,” Hajime said, his words a wall guarding Tooru from his fears. He helped Tooru to his feet, lacing their fingers as he guided Tooru back to the house. Hajime’s parents were deep sleepers, and there were still a few hours before dawn, so Hajime led Tooru to his bed, tucked Tooru’s head under his chin, and wrapped his arms around Tooru’s waist. He breathed in Tooru’s scent of leather and lavender, felt his muscles loosen as he relaxed for the first time in weeks.

While in town the next day, Hajime overheard talk of a giant troll who had taken up residence outside the Golden Forest. _The first troll in these parts in years. He lures travelers in with just his words. They don’t see his hideous face until too late!_

The wheelwright rolled his eyes when Hajime mentioned the news. “The troll is bad, sure, but the real trouble is that it is feeding off the magic of the Golden Forest. The Golden Forest has been our protector for years. If that troll is not stopped soon, it could throw us into a drought or cause a harsh winter.”

About six years ago, the wheelwright had traveled through the Golden Forest in search of fortune, sent by his cruel stepmother. He had returned with a maiden who he claimed as wife, a sword that was dull for everyone except him, and a steel in his countenance many did not want to cross. The town had both revered and feared him, a pariah in the home he had grudgingly saved. Tooru always went out of his way to leave flowers or herbs for him, chatting with him when he saw him around town. It was the first time Hajime knew what an irrational monster jealousy could become, and Tooru had laughed when he found out.

“Hajime is still my only hero,” Tooru had teased, kissing Hajime’s nose lightly. Hajime decided then to be nice to the wheelwright too.

“If someone wanted to stop the troll,” Hajime asked the wheelwright now, slowly, “what would they need to have?”

The wheelwright assessed Hajime. Hajime stared back, determination smoldering inside of him. He remembered, so long ago, the feeling of Tooru’s finger on his forehead like a prophecy. 

“Courage, wit, and sunlight,” the wheelwright finally answered.

Hajime figured he had enough courage, and sunlight was easy enough to come by. And he just had to outwit a troll; he could manage that, no matter how Tooru teased him of his lack of intelligence.

He waited another week or so, until the last of the harvest was over, keeping a steady eye on Tooru and his nighttime wanderings. Tooru tended to sleep better with Hajime beside him, so every night Tooru was allowed to spend at Hajime’s found them curled together like cats in Hajime’s small bed, warm and safe, much to Hajime’s mother’s displeasure. 

The night before Hajime planned to leave, Tooru was acting particularly clingy. Hajime had decided to tell no one of his plan, and would leave a note instead. But Tooru, already so good at reading the things Hajime didn’t say, would not let him be. 

The topic of the Golden Forest came up at dinner, from Hajime’s father no less. “The nonsense you hear about town nowadays,” he grumbled, “people saying how weather is suddenly tied to the Forest. If that were so, why do we have severe snowstorms at all? Why not just a mild winter every year?”

Tooru hunched down in his seat at the side-eyed looks from Hajime and Hajime’s mother. Hajime’s father had no fear of anything from their ancestral history. While Hajime did not agree with him, he understood where his father’s opinion came from. He was originally from a town farther south and much bigger than their small village here in the vale. Their main concern lay with holding off invading noblemen instead of the giants living in the nearest fjord or trolls and huldre folk in the mountains where most of the hunting happened. Hajime was convinced his father still saw Tooru as a completely normal boy, just burdened with a mother touched by madness.

Hajime’s mother, on the other hand, had grown up here in the village and kept a wary balance between the new religious fervor marching through the country and their old, traditional ways. Hajime could tell that his father’s influence had drawn her away from their heritage, but every once in a while he noticed her leaving scraps of food on the doorstep or watching Tooru curiously as he let himself slip into the half of him that was mystical.

Hajime felt Tooru’s leg brush his. Hajime linked their ankles together. They shared a look, and Hajime was relieved to see Tooru turn back to his food. Hajime tried to tune out his father’s derisive comments, instead constructing a better plan than the vague one he had cobbled together during the uncommon moments he was alone with his mind not preoccupied with work.

When dinner finished, Hajime saw Tooru to the door. Tooru dawdled, fiddling with the buttons on his coat. “Are you...You haven’t said much about the troll.”

Hajime shrugged, not sure how to answer. Goodbye seemed such a final thing, as if he planned on leaving for an insurmountable length of time. By his count, this would take less than a week.

Hajime watched an unsettling anxiousness flit into Tooru’s eyes for a mere instant before resignation took its place. Usually, Tooru was so composed. Hajime didn’t like seeing the uncertainty in his eyes.

“You’ll come back to me?” Tooru whispered, and for the first time since Tooru had told Hajime of his more than mortal nature, he sounded frightened. Hajime paused for a moment. He wondered if Tooru thought that, once Hajime had taken a taste of adventuring, he would just decide to leave him forever.

Hajime squared his shoulders, meeting Tooru’s eyes, unwavering. “It’s just a troll. Even if it is a group of trolls, they all die the same. And then I’ll have somewhere to come back to. Some _one_.”

Tooru nodded his head. His thumb ran along the strap of the pack on his back. The precarious expression still lingered on Tooru’s face—Hajime had to banish it. “I will do whatever is best for you, and if that means defeating a hoard of mountain trolls, so be it.”

A slight smile walked across Tooru’s lips, finally reaching his eyes. “Ah, you are already inflating the story of your grand conquest. It is probably just a lost lonely wight you will give some bread and water to and shoo on its way, and we will sing all about your bravery when you really just have a soft heart.”

“Hush,” Hajime said. He reached out, taking Tooru’s hands in his own for just a moment, squeezing them tightly before releasing them. “Sleep well, Tooru.”

Tooru nodded. Hajime watched him as he meandered down the path toward his homestead, the shadows eventually swallowing him. Hajime turned and went back into the house.

His mother looked at him with suspicion, but she just asked Hajime to clear the table. Yes, the letter would be best, he decided after trying and failing to string together a coherent argument that she would appreciate. If the problem in the Golden Forest took him from his parents, he did not want their last memories with each other to be sad, angry ones. 

After dinner was cleaned, Hajime excused himself for bed. He knew he should sleep, so he did for a few brief hours, but it was fitful, full of excitement and anxiousness and planning

By the time he roused himself, Hajime knew exactly what he wanted to take with him. He went out on long journeys once in a while, traveling to the closest city for rare food and supplies, or joined hunting expeditions when his father asked him to. So he strapped a knife to his belt, packed enough food for three days, and rolled his blanket and a few spare clothing items into a tight bundle. He was so focused on his task that he did not hear his mother walk into the room until she coughed, just loud enough to catch his attention.

Hajime jerked up, turning to look at her. She seemed very young just then, her long hair down, her eyes sad. He swallowed, forcing himself to continue watching her as she walked closer. She deserved at least that much from him. “You cannot leave now, Hajime,” his mother said, placing a hand on his arm to stop his packing. “The snow season is about to begin.”

“If I am lucky, I will get there and back before the first snow sticks. I love you, but I have to do this.”

Hajime saw all the arguments his mother had stored up inside herself for years, ever since Hajime had declared himself a true giant-slayer at three years old. He braced himself for the onslaught, prepared with his refutes.

Instead, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “My brave, darling Hajime. You carry so much love in your heart for that boy. I always knew, even before he came along, that I would lose you to the ancient ways of our people. Your heart is a magic, wild thing. Go with God, my son.”

Hajime leaned down and kissed his mother on the forehead. “Give Father my love. I will come back soon, Mother, you’ll see.”

Hajime strapped his bag onto his back. He put on his sturdiest pair of boots, tied his mittens to his belt, secured his warmest cloak around his neck in case of early snow, which would also make a good blanket for camping, then hesitated before pulling his compass out of the small leather pouch it was kept in. Tooru had given it to him for his birthday just four months previous. “So you can always find me, of course,” he had joked. Hajime wondered if Tooru had known, subconsciously, that something was amiss in the world that needed righting.

When Hajime got outside, he took the path north. He would follow the main path for most of the morning before veering off toward the Forest, arriving by mid-afternoon. If everything went well, he would deal with the troll and be home in less than a week. Three days was his goal.

Hajime was so wrapped up in his thoughts he almost missed the shadowy figure standing by the fence on the outskirts of the farmland surrounding their village. “Tooru?”

“Hi,” Tooru said. Hajime approached him. Tooru looked wide awake for someone used to sleeping past sunrise.

“How did you know I would be leaving this early?”

“Just a feeling,” he said, his voice airy, belying the concern that showed clearly on his face. “I wanted to give you some things. To help you.”

Tooru produced a small pouch. Hajime took it, eyebrows creasing in confusion when he noticed that it felt empty. “Put your hand inside.”

Warily, Hajime followed Tooru’s instructions. To his astonishment, there were a few coins lining the bottom of the purse. “It will never be empty,” Tooru said. “Although, try not to buy anything too expensive, it might get suspicious trying to pull out that many coins.”

Hajime chuckled. The bag would most likely not be too helpful, as the village was the last civilized place on this road to the Forest, but he would not turn down Tooru’s good will on a whim.

“Then there is this.” Tooru offered Hajime a small, folded cloth. Hajime frowned again. “It is a tablecloth that, once opened, will give you food. But it only works once a day. It is so you don’t starve.”

“I know how to hunt, Tooru,” Hajime said. Tooru huffed. “But thank you.”

“And, um, here.” Tooru hesitated, then held out a nondescript woolen hat. Hajime held his breath but made no move to take it. He could sense the strangeness in it just by looking. “It is a hat from the huldre.”

Hajime stared at Tooru. Tooru glanced around then tucked the hat into Hajime’s coat. “Where…” Hajime stuttered, then tried again. “Where did you get that?”

Tooru didn’t meet his eye, just patted Hajime’s chest, his hands resting on Hajime’s coarse jacket after a few taps. “Is it...your mother’s?”

Tooru shrugged. Hajime interpreted that as a yes. He reached out, placed his hand on Tooru’s cheek. Ever since that day in the trees, Hajime grounded himself this way. Every time, Tooru responded by pressing into his touch. They were not the same boys from two years ago, but Hajime was still fascinated by Tooru all the same. “I will come back.”

“I know,” Tooru said, then pressed their lips together for just the briefest instance. “I gave you that compass for a reason. Get your bearing and put your mittens on, Hajime, your fingers are ice!”

Hajime laughed, retracting his hand. “You could come, if you want.”

Tooru turned his head away, folding his arms across his chest. “I have to work with the cobbler, and my mother…” he smiled tightly, looking back at Hajime. “You can do it!”

Hajime smiled as he turned away. He felt Tooru’s gaze on his back all the way down the northern road, off on his first adventure.

Hajime liked traveling. He had always been a solitary person, and journeying on his own was refreshing. He felt like he could discover himself better while in nature than he could anywhere else. He also felt a kinship to Tooru that he thought he would never feel. Tooru, while living as removed from anything outside as he did, had always been so aware of their natural surroundings, even though Hajime was the one who worked the soil every day.

The trek to the Golden Forest took most of the day, probably because Hajime kept getting distracted by the view of the mountains and the trails that led down to the fjord he had to stop himself from following. When he finally crested the hill to the Golden Forest, the sight of the beautiful, deep yellow leaves of the trees was just as awe-inspiring as the two other times he had seen them, still as brilliant as they appeared in summer, even as autumn ended. 

Not many people ventured to the Golden Forest. There was not much purpose traveling this way, as the Forest bumped up against the edge of their valley, the tall, impassable mountains on the right deterring most adventurers, and hunting usually a strange, unsuccessful affair the closer you got. Word was, if you made it through the Forest, you found yourself in a beautiful, constantly snowy tundra full of huldre and the like. The village was one of the most northern settlements on the continent, a place where magic and humans still mingled, and the Forest was the boundary to a place where magic still thrived.

Hajime set up camp on the outskirts of the Forest as the sun went down. He could feel a strange, magical tug trying to guide him into their branches, but he was used to turning down Tooru’s coercion, which felt unsettlingly similar. Instead of listening, he put his back to the trees and hunkered down to watch what happened during the night.

Hajime felt a wave of tiredness wash over him about three hours into his vigil. He rubbed at his eyes, yawned, shook his head, but sleep overtook him and he fell into an exhausted sleep.

Hajime woke up shivering, his breath misting in front of him, the world the gray of predawn. Grasping his cloak and wrapping himself inside of it, he glanced around with a sinking heart. Everything was the same as the night before. 

Hajime clicked his tongue against his teeth, irritated that he had lost a whole night to sleep. He opened his pack, about to cobble together breakfast, when Tooru’s tablecloth caught his attention. It wouldn’t hurt to try it out. He pulled the tablecloth out of the pack and unfolded it onto the ground. Hajime gasped when, lo and behold, a spread of breads, cheeses, meats, and fruits appeared before him. Without thinking, he grabbed a strawberry, biting into it. It was juicy, but a bit bland. Everything on the tablecloth was similar, edible but not outstanding. Still, it would keep him from starving, as Tooru had pointed out.

After his breakfast, Hajime decided he should probably familiarize himself with the surroundings. He walked along the perimeter of the Forest, admiring it more than actually looking for anything in particular. It was sheer luck that he stumbled across footprints, almost as long as his whole arm. He frowned, following them when they veered away from the treeline to a rocky outcropping. A stench of rotten meat hit his nose, and Hajime gagged, quickly pulling the collar of his jacket up to try and mask the smell. This must be where their troll had taken residence.

He couldn’t find anything else of note, other than bones picked clean of their meat and a large boulder that might hide the entrance to the troll’s hideout. It was too big for him to move, and, truthfully, he was glad of that, because the closer he got to the site, the more terrible the smell became, like dead flesh left in the sun for too long. Pressing his jacket more firmly to his nose and mouth, he hurried away, wondering if the smell came from the troll itself or just from the way it lived.

The rest of the day plodded slowly. Hajime decided to try and sleep, so that he had no excuses for falling asleep again.

When he woke up, the sun was setting. The leaves glowed brightly, as if they emitted their own light. It was mesmerizing. Looking at them, Hajime could almost imagine knights and poor damsels wandering into the branches, seeking a better life or a big fortune. He wondered if that was what Tooru saw on the breeze, or in the stream. He wished that he could capture this moment to take back and show Tooru. 

A part of him longed to go in and investigate the wildness of the forest, but he had other things to tame at the moment. Maybe one day.

Soon enough, night had settled. Hajime crouched down behind a pile of rocks he had noticed during his walk around the site that afternoon, waiting for the troll’s inevitable appearance.

He was not disappointed.

At about three hours past midnight, the boulder Hajime had figured acted as a door to somewhere rolled aside. He held his breath, watching as a troll that stood at least two of him tall strode out of the mountain. Hajime crouched closer to the ground as the troll stopped, turning in a circle with a confused look on its face, sniffing the air. After a few tense moments, the troll shrugged and trudged away from Hajime, toward the Forest. He waited, barely breathing (from the smell as much as the situation), until the crickets started chirping again before he stood up.

The troll hadn’t covered his door, so Hajime decided to start his investigation there. Sometimes, trolls hoarded riches. Other times, they only had themselves. Either way, Hajime figured why not look?

Of course, the light from the moon did not reach very far into the cave. Hajime had prepared for this and drew a candle out of his jacket, lighting it quickly before his fingers could grow cold out of his mittens. He held his breath, hoping there was not a troll left behind to guard whatever was in the cave. 

It was empty. 

Well, mostly empty. There were more bones scattered along the floor, these ones much bigger than the ones he had seen outside. He shuddered to think what creatures these may have been. The smell had permeated into Hajime’s sense now, a dull disgusting backdrop to the grim scene. A very large blanket lay on the ground in the corner next to a bunch of loose feathers. 

The only thing of note to Hajime was the small handful of coins and jewels in another corner, glittering in the candle flame. Hajime had no interest in the actual gold or gems, but he found himself picking up a few of the rings and bracelets, wondering if they had their own magic. When he stood up, his foot nudged a ball of yarn. The string looked strange, a white, translucent web that seemed to disappear when he looked at it directly. He decided to pocket that as well. 

Once his investigation had finished, he was at a loss of what to do. He knew getting caught in the cave was the worst possible thing that could happen, so he slipped out into the night. He had just decided to go back to his rocky hiding place and wait until the troll returned when, suddenly, a screech echoed through the Forest. 

It only took him three breaths to decide to go see what was happening. He ran toward the sound. In the back of his mind, he realized this was the first time he was entering the Forest, feeling a quick pang of regret that it was not a more momentous occasion. But, for now, he had more important things to worry about.

Hajime found the source of the commotion quickly, following the same large footprints he had seen before. He stopped, stunned, as he saw a girl standing in front of the troll, hands on her hips. In the light of the moon, Hajime could see that her hair was pale, determination blazing from the set of her mouth and the narrowness of her eyes. She could not be much older than his sixteen years. She had on only a white dress with strange, beautifully stitched red designs Hajime had never seen before. Tooru would have loved to get a closer look at it. Over her dress, she had on a green cloak, the fur on the collar belying the simple look. She must come from a family of wealth to own something so nice. Her boots, made of sturdy leather and fur, also looked of quality make. She had on no hat.

“I know not what to say, Dunyr! You can check your cave, the yarn will still be there. I cannot help you if you misplaced your cap.”

“Yous took the cap. Yous took the glass shoes too,” the troll said, his voice deep enough to vibrate the ground. Hajime sidled toward a nearby tree to hide and listen. What an interesting turn of events—this girl seemed to know the troll. Had talked to him previously. What was she trying to gain by playing this game?

“Look, if you want to go back and see if your yarn is there, I will wait right here.”

“Come with me,” the troll said, voice sly. “I haves a lovely home; I would be more than happy to show a lovely lady of your regalness my own castle.”

The girl shook her head. “I would be more than happy to wait right here for you to return.”

“How do I know you will not be gone when I get back?”

“I swear I will stay right here until you come to show me that the yarn is still in your possession. Have I broken a promise to you yet, good Dunyr?”

Dunyr’s head listed to the side in confusion. Truthfully, Hajime was also at a loss, this pretty girl’s words twisting around his brain. He knew all of the words she said, even knew the full sentences. But his head felt a little muddled, as if her voice were trying to tell him to do something her words were not.

“I s’pose not,” the troll muttered. Hajime pulled farther behind the tree he hid next to as the troll turned his way. “I will return when I have the yarn to show you.”

With that, he lumbered off the way he had come. Hajime stayed behind his tree, waiting until the troll’s footsteps stopped moving the ground, before peeking back at the girl. She had taken a seat on a rock and had pulled out a piece of cloth she was now angrily stitching into. Hajime wondered, again, how her fingers weren’t so cold she couldn’t hold a needle.

It took him a long while to decide whether to approach her or not. Hajime finally decided that, yes, he would introduce himself, because he had taken the yarn that the troll was looking for, and had therefore interrupted whatever plan this maiden had concocted.

He tried to stay as quiet as possible as he moved out from behind the tree, but within ten steps, the maiden glanced up from her work. Her eyebrows rose, her fingers stilling. 

“Hello, stranger. What brings you into this Forest on such a crisp night?”

Hajime blinked. “I heard a commotion and decided to investigate. What brings you out here?”

The girl laughed. It was a delicate, cold sound, like an icicle shattering. “Me? I have been out here for five days. I am trying to find something I thought this troll might know about, but I was wrong. Now, I am figuring out a way to leave. Never fear, never fear, I have gotten myself in and out of these situations often. I think maybe one more night of this will put him over the edge into true anger, what do you think?”

Hajime frowned. She sure used a lot of words for saying so little, is what he truly thought, but he refrained from saying so. “I think he might be more angry than you know.”

Hajime produced the yarn he had taken from the cave. The girl’s eyes widened, the first time she had shown surprise, now that Hajime thought about it, before she let out that brittle laugh again. “You _are_ an interesting one, aren’t you? Well, then, we’d best come up with a more suitable plan now, hadn’t we? The sun should rise in an hour’s time or so. The troll will be angry enough to come back, we don’t have to worry about that. It is keeping him out here that will be the trick.”

“An hour?” Hajime said, surprised.

The girl slipped down from her perch on the rock. She took her time tucking her stitching into her pouch, which she then covered with her cloak. “Time has a way of slipping and sliding in the Forest, see.”

The leaves above him rustled—Hajime glanced up at the gold leaves, then back down at the strange maiden in front of him. “I think it has something to do with the way you speak. Maybe a bauble that you wear.”

Hajime took a savage satisfaction in the unrestrained shock on her face. The feeling was akin to when he beat Tooru in a battle of wits, which happened rarely, mostly because Hajime didn’t have the time nor patience to argue with him.

But the girl, like Tooru, recovered quickly. “Be that as it may, it has given us precious time, although I must confess, bar running around until the sun comes up, I do not know how to get this troll to stay out until the sun rises.”

Luckily, Hajime had already formed half of a plan. This girl had just provided the second half. “Leave everything to me. You just have to get him talking when he comes back.”

The girl stared at Hajime. Her eyes were the deep blue of a glacier and just as cold. Hajime forced himself not to shiver. Finally, she nodded. “I guess I will trust you. Do not let me down.”

“I won’t,” Hajime promised. He had worked his whole life to be reliable. He wouldn’t let that be his downfall now. 

***

As the girl predicted, the troll came back. And he was angry. “The yarn is gone! The hat is gone! You’ve broken your promise, all of your promises!”

“I can safely say that I have not,” the girl said, sidestepping a lunge from the troll. Hajime, back to hiding behind his tree, put the hat that Tooru had given him onto his head. The girl was still talking, effortlessly avoiding each of the troll’s advances. Hajime could tell it was making him furious. “I gave you the slippers. I gave you the cap. I also gave you the yarn. You cannot tell me that I did not.”

The troll roared, because, of course, the girl was correct. The cadence of this girl’s arguments were similar to Tooru’s, so Hajime understood the troll’s mounting frustration. He almost felt sorry for what they were about to do.

Hajime glanced down at his hand. It didn’t really appear any different than usual, but he trusted Tooru. He just hoped this worked. If not, he could always just run around, like the girl had mentioned before, although what kind of rescue would that be?

“Hey!” he shouted before he could second guess his plan. He stepped out from behind the tree. The troll jerked around, eyes roaming the forest. The girl also appeared puzzled. “Hey! I took your yarn. Aren’t you going to come and get it from me?”

“Where are you?” the troll bellowed.

“In front of you,” Hajime said. “Maybe you aren’t looking low enough.”

Hajime watched the girl cover her mouth as the troll bent down, rustling a bush next to his feet. “You are facing the wrong way,” Hajime said, and the troll whirled around, the girl back in his sights.

“Did you plan this?” the troll asked. The girl shook her head and, once again, moved out of the way as the troll reached toward her. She looked too graceful, like a snowflake dancing in the wind. It unnerved Hajime.

“If you can catch me,” Hajime cut in, satisfied when the troll instantly rounded to the sound of his voice, “I will give you back your yarn.”

The troll roared again. Hajime scrambled to the side as the troll stumbled toward him, then continued running up the path and yelling at the troll until they were out into the clearing, a strange game of hide and find, where Hajime was never found.

When they got to the field before the Forest, the sky was turning the murky gray before full sunrise. Hajime breathed a sigh of relief; this crazy night was almost at an end, and he could be home before nightfall.

The troll, however, had noticed the sun as well. He let out another frustrated growl before turning back to his cave. “You will not get away! This place belongs to me!”

Hajime didn’t want to go through this again for another night. He thought fast. “Aren’t you going to find me? A being as brave as you is just going to give up?” Hajime shouted, then jumped to the side as the troll swiped his long arm across the air. He rolled back to his feet, glancing east. It was definitely lighter. Just a few more moments of distraction.

“I’m right here! Can’t you see me? I can see you just fine!”

The troll let out a bellow of frustration, turning completely back toward Hajime and away from the safety of his cave. Hajime grinned, then continued calling to the troll and skipping away when he got too close.

“Coward!” the troll yelled.

Hajime swiped the hat off of his head. The troll turned to him immediately. “Clever,” Hajime corrected, and the first rays of the sun broke above the horizon line, almost unnoticeable through the clouds. The troll let out one more piercing yell before he turned to stone. Hajime watched, fascinated and slightly horrified, as the troll’s skin hardened instantaneously when the sun’s beams met it.

Hajime looked around uncertainly, not sure what to do now.

“That _was_ clever.”

Hajime turned his head to see the girl who had confronted the troll standing next to him. He wasn’t sure how long she had been there, or how she even ended up next to him, but there she stood, her blond hair fluttering in the wind like a flag. Hajime wondered once again how she wasn’t freezing cold, in nothing but that long dress and cape.

“Where did you come by a hat like that, anyway?” she asked, her voice innocent, but her eyes sharpened as they landed on his hands, where he still held the hat in his grip.

Shrugging, Hajime warily tucked the hat back where it had rested the whole journey, in his coat next to his heart. “Found it, I guess.”

“Well,” the girl said, bending closer, so close her cold breath hit Hajime’s cheek, “if you’re such a good finder, I have a sister who is looking for something. Magic apples. Maybe you could help her?”

Hajime took a step backward. “I...I just wanted to make sure my village stayed safe, nothing more. Best of luck on your journey.”

The girl sighed, stepping away too. “To you as well. But if you ever make your way down to Briar Ridge, we would appreciate your help. It’s a curse, see. On me and my seven siblings. Four of us have had our curses broken, but the other three still need rescuing. The magic apples are the hardest to find, it seems. I thought there might be some here, but nothing. Anyway, think about it. There may be more rewards like your magic hat.”

With that, she slipped away as quickly and silently as she had approached him. Hajime stood there, stunned and wondering what it would be like to follow her for a few moments, then shook himself back to his immediate concerns. He should sleep before starting back home.

“Oh, and that yarn!” Hajime’s head jerked up as the girl yelled back to him. “Keep it! You never know where it will lead you. And by the way, my name is Sigri, Hajime Iwaizumi! Sigri of Briar Ridge. Tah!”

Hajime didn’t know whether to be more shocked that she knew his name, or that she had given him hers. Names were not something given to strangers lightly, as strangers could be something...other. There was many a tale about the poor lad who had made the terrible choice of giving his name to a huldre woman who harbored malicious intent.

Regardless, Sigri was long gone. Hajime glanced back over at his small camp. He really should sleep before starting back.

In the end, the weather made the decision for him. It was not uncommon for large, white clouds to span the sky, but now they looked heavy with moisture. In the rush of the chase, he had not noticed the snow. Hajime reached out a hand, watching a snowflake melt on his palm. He did not want to be stuck here in a snowstorm. So he packed his things up. He was wide awake anyway, his body still fueled by the excitement of the chase with the troll. He could sleep when he returned home.

The walk back was much faster than his journey to the Forest. For one thing, he was replaying the night over in his mind, too distracted to appreciate his surroundings. Secondly, he was anticipating seeing Tooru again. He was kind of excited to see the look of admiration in Tooru’s eyes when he told him about defeating the troll. Out of the two of them, Tooru usually received most of the attention when they were together, from girls thinking he was cute to old ladies asking him about his mother and admiring his nice skin. For once, Hajime would garner some talk.

He arrived back in the village outskirts by early afternoon. He hesitated by his family home, torn between going in to tell his mother he was back, and going straight to the village to eat lunch with Tooru.

He could not, in good conscious, pass up the opportunity to make sure his mother knew he was safe.

As Hajime walked up the pathway to his door, he suddenly wondered if he should knock. He had not been gone for long, but he also knew his leaving had gone against his parents wishes. If his mother had not caught him, he would have left like a coward.

His mother threw the door open before he had to make the decision for himself. “Oh you have returned!” she said, her smile big as she hugged him. When she pulled away, she wrinkled her nose. “You smell ghastly. At least clean up before you go see Tooru, he would never let you forget this.”

Hajime laughed. “You are right about that.”

Hajime put his pack away as his mother heated water for him to wash with. He made sure to put the jewelry and yarn in the back of his chest of clothes, hidden as best he could. He was sure no one would take them, but he wanted to be safe.

When he had put everything back in its proper place, he returned to the front of the house, where his mother was just finished filling the wash basin. He washed quickly, much to his mother’s dismay, but he really wanted to see Tooru. 

“I do not know what I expected in three days, but you have absolutely not changed,” his mother said, shaking her head as Hajime rushed out the door, his hair still wet. “Be back in time for dinner!”

“I will!” Hajime yelled back to her.

He made it to the cobbler’s in record time. Before going inside, Hajime peered into the window. Tooru was alone, seated on a small stool, head bent over a fine-looking shoe. He was biting his lip, his eyes narrowed in concentration, and Hajime watched as a stray piece of hair fell into his face, which he didn’t move aside until he had finished his stitch. Hajime’s heart thumped hard in his chest. The times he caught Tooru unaware like this were very seldom.

Before he could get caught sneaking looks through the window by anyone he knew, Hajime walked into the shop.

“I’ll be with you shortly!” Tooru’s cheerful voice said, but he didn’t look up from his work. 

Hajime grinned as he watched Tooru, and as soon as he knew there would be no mess-ups he would be blamed for, he said, “I can’t believe you’d make your customers wait for you like this. What if my need was dire?”

Tooru’s head jerked up, his work forgotten as he sprang to his feet.

“Hajime! You’re back! Was it a wight, or did Hajime have to put his scary face on?” Tooru screwed his face into a funny caricature of angry, smiling when Hajime giggled.

“No scary face necessary. It was your hat that did the trick.”

Tooru’s eyes widened. He dropped the shoe he had been working with and bridged the distance between them, gathering Hajime’s hands in his. Hajime grasped onto Tooru’s hands tightly. It had only been three days. They had been separated for longer before, but this time felt different. Maybe because Hajime had almost _chosen_ to leave. “Tell me, tell me!” Tooru said, eyes shining eagerly. “You actually outsmarted a troll, Hajime?”

“Oi, don’t make it sound like I’m not as smart as a troll!” Hajime said and Tooru laughed, breaking their hand hold to wrap his arms around Hajime, laying his head on Hajime’s shoulder for just a second before standing upright. Hajime felt his cheeks turn red at Tooru’s awed expression. This was exactly the look Hajime had imagined on his walk home. “It wasn’t really that big of a problem. There was only one, not a hoard. So you don’t accuse me of, what did you say before? Inflating my story?”

“Then tell me what happened!” Tooru said.

“Shall we go to the backroom first so you can eat lunch?” Hajime asked. Tooru sighed but nodded, gesturing Hajime toward the room while Tooru went to flip the sign on the door to closed before joining him. They sat face-to-face on empty crates, knees brushing. It had been a long time since Hajime had visited Tooru at work like this. He thought he should make the trip more often.

“Okay, no more dawdling. Tell me everything, Hajime!” Hajime laughed, then did just that, Tooru hanging on to his every word, barely touching his food. Hajime skirted around talk of Sigri, just mentioned another adventurer out to stop the troll. When Tooru tried to probe, Hajime skillfully maneuvered around the questions. Tooru glanced at him suspiciously, but when Hajime told him about using Tooru’s huldre hat, the girl left his mind.

“My Hajime is smarter than a troll,” Tooru said solemnly when his story finished. Tooru leaned over and kissed Hajime’s cheek quickly. “But I’m the real reason why you won.”

Hajime rolled his eyes. “Oh, yes. If it were not for your hat, oh great Tooru Oikawa, I would never have survived.”

Tooru stiffened. Hajime raised his eyebrows, taking another bite of food. He waited patiently until Tooru spoke. “It’s just…” Tooru said when Hajime continued staring, waiting for an answer to Tooru’s strange silence. “I don’t remember the last time you used my full name, that’s all. It sounded nice, Hajime Iwaizumi.”

A jolt went through Hajime’s body, similar to when Sigri called his name out across the road. Except, Hajime’s name on Tooru’s lips sounded like an adventure on its own.

Tooru did not miss the way Hajime paused. He set his food to the side, leaning closer to Hajime. “Did you like that, Hajime Iwaizumi? Do you like your name on my lips?”

Hajime smirked. “Not any more than you like it from me.”

Tooru leaned back, still wearing his self-satisfied smirk. “I wonder if I called your name, how far you would come to find me.”

“You’re so loud I could probably hear you across the ocean.”

Tooru gasped, whatever strange tension that had built in the air between them shattered. “Mean Hajime!” Hajime laughed as Tooru rushed to defend himself (in a not-so-quiet voice). When the cobbler came back, he chuckled good-naturedly at the sight of Tooru and Hajime wrestling in the backroom. “Tooru, you have work to do. Nice to see you as always, Hajime.”

Tooru stuck out his tongue at Hajime as they broke apart. “I would have won had we been able to finish.”

“Of course you would have. Are you staying the night at my house?” Hajime looked out the window. The snow had grown thicker, a soft blanket falling over the quaint town square. He really had made it home just before the first of the deep winter snow. Tooru’s house was just far enough away that trekking there from the shop after a snowstorm, then back in the morning for work, was cold and exhausting. 

“If you will have me,” Tooru said, suddenly prim.

Hajime sighed, exasperated with Tooru’s antics. “Of course I will or I wouldn’t have asked.”

“Then in that case,” Tooru grinned, “I will be over when we close shop.”

“If you two lovebirds are done back there,” the cobbler’s voice called, “we have customers coming in!”

Hajime felt the blush coloring his face as he walked out. Tooru looked shameless as he fixed his hair. “Sorry sir,” Hajime said. “I’m leaving now.”

That night, Hajime woke to Tooru stirring. Hajime held his breath, but Tooru just turned around, snuggling deeper into the quilts. “Come back, Haji, you’re warm,” he mumbled, one hand still tucked under his chin, the other groping blindly for where Hajime’s head had rested moments before.

“Settle down,” Hajime whispered, grabbing Tooru’s arm, shifting so they were closer together. “You know, we can’t do this all the time.”

“Mmm,” Tooru mumbled, already mostly asleep. “I promise to behave if you do. I missed you Hajime.”

And Hajime had no argument, so he buried himself back into the bed, tangling his and Tooru’s limbs together even though he knew they shouldn’t. They were so close he felt Tooru’s lips turn up against his cheek. Tooru’s breath ghosted across Hajime’s face, surprisingly cold, reminding Hajime of a flurry of snowflakes.

When they woke up, Tooru had not moved. Hajime sighed, all of his muscles loosening. The sleepwalking seemed to have stopped, then. At least for now.

“Ew,” Tooru said, cracking one eye open. He reached out, pressing one finger against Hajime’s forehead. “Your breath is gross.”

Hajime hit him over the head, smiling when Tooru just laughed. He sat up, watching as Tooru flopped back on the bed, stretching his arms over his head, arching his back like a bridge before going limp. His hair splayed out across the pillow, ridiculous and unkempt.

“You are beautiful,” Hajime blurted. He felt his cheeks heat up instantly, suddenly feverish in the cold chill of the room.

Tooru’s face was also red. He turned, burying his head in between his and Hajime’s pillow. “You can’t just say that,” he said, voice muffled, peeking out when Hajime didn’t answer. Before Tooru could do anything, Hajime leaned down, capturing his lips in a kiss, breaking away quickly. They had shared nothing more than these very brief interactions, lips touching cheeks or noses and, sometimes, lips, but never more than a few seconds. In this moment, Hajime so deeply wanted more. 

“I can say whatever I want,” Hajime finally answered, satisfied when the blush deepened on Tooru’s cheeks. “Now, we should get ready for the day before my mother realizes we shared a bed last night.”

Tooru groaned but sat up as well. “It is going to be a long winter,” he murmured with a shiver. “I can feel it on the wind.”

“That doesn’t mean the work stops,” Hajime scolded, hitting Tooru’s stomach gently with the back of his hand. “If anything, it means more. But we will endure it together.”

Tooru nodded, rubbing his cheek on Hajime’s shoulder before rolling out of the bed. Hajime watched Tooru rustle through Hajime’s chest for a spare change of clothing. A warm feeling bloomed in Hajime’s heart, chasing away the cold.

“What is this?” Tooru asked, pulling out the small satchel that Hajime had purchased in town the day before.

“Open it. You can have whatever you want.”

Frowning, Tooru opened the bag. Hajime grinned when Tooru gasped. “Hajime, these are so pretty!”

Hajime watched as Tooru poured the jewelry out across the ground. “Oh, some of these have magic! How exciting! We will have to see what they do together.” Tooru’s fingers hesitated when they passed by a bracelet. Personally, it was Hajime’s favorite, made to look like wheat stalks, the detail in the gold stunning. He thought it would look nice on Tooru’s skin.

“Keep it,” Hajime said. Tooru brushed his fingers across it one more time before picking it up, slipping it over his long fingers and palm so it rested on his wrist. He smiled when he met Hajime’s eyes.

“Your hat, tablecloth, and purse are in there,” Hajime said. Tooru hummed, scooping up the rest of the jewelry and putting it back in the satchel. Without responding, he turned back to the trunk, pulling out one of Hajime’s softest shirts, the one Tooru stole most often. 

“You keep them for now. I will collect them when I need them,” he finally said.

Hajime wanted to argue that he would not need them again, but Tooru turned to look at him, challenge in his deep brown eyes, and Hajime swallowed the words. He wouldn’t leave again for a long while, he vowed. 

But that afternoon, when Hajime’s father mentioned that they were going to the closest city for the last time that year, Hajime couldn’t help but wonder what lay farther, Sigri’s invitation still persistent in his mind.

He pushed it away. He could do nothing about it now that winter was close. His family needed him here. He remembered the way Tooru looked that morning, lying in his bed with a blush across his cheeks. He wasn’t just needed; he wanted to be here, with Tooru.

“What are you thinking?” Tooru asked the next day as he watched Hajime load up his family wagon with their excess crops. “You are quieter than usual.”

“Nothing of note,” Hajime said. “We will be gone about a week. You’ll behave?”

Tooru rolled his eyes. “You sound like my mother, Hajime. Be safe and come back.”

“Now who sounds like a mother?” Hajime asked. Tooru folded his arms. “I promise, I will come back.”

Tooru sighed but nodded. “I guess I should get used to you leaving, a big, strong hero like you, protector of families and virgins...”

“Oh hush. I will be back here with you in a week, no virgins or families safer than before.”

Hajime got up on the wagon with his father. He turned to wave at Tooru, who waved back cheerfully before turning away. 

“You and that boy sure spend a lot of time together,” his father said once Hajime had settled back into his seat.

Hajime glanced at his father out of the corner of his eye. They did not talk about Tooru much, especially not...this way, as if they were more than friendly. It was not that Hajime did not think his parents knew what he and Tooru felt for each other, but rather, how unfathomable for them it probably was, realizing Hajime and Tooru would, most likely, be together forever. 

“You are old enough to enter into a marriage contract,” his father said. Hajime stared straight ahead. Just the word, _marriage_ , made his skin feel tight. “I have some friends in the city who have children your age. They would make a good match for you.”

Hajime chose his words carefully. “I do not think marriage at this time is what I want, although I can take on more responsibility at the house, if you would prefer?”

His father sighed. “No, you work enough as it is. You caught a taste for wandering, I see.”

Hajime winced. They were going to talk about everything he had done wrong in the last few weeks, it seemed, one right after the other. Too much interest in Tooru, not enough interest in marriage, his strange fascination with becoming what Tooru proclaimed him to be so long ago. “I guess.”

His father didn’t say anything for a moment. Hajime sat, waiting anxiously for whatever he was about to say. “There was a time when I left home, you know. I was about your age, maybe younger. My older brother had left for the army, and, while I did not find the army appealing, I did find the idea of a different life intriguing.”

“I went to the capital. I visited castles and churches and monasteries and tiny villages that barely had a green. All were very interesting. All gave me a perspective I had not had before.”

Hajime had never heard of this side of his father. Thinking back, Hajime did not remember his father really telling him any part of his life before marrying his mother. “I see a lot of myself in you. Content with what you have, but harboring enough yearning for more. I will say, your curiosity is leading you in a much different direction than mine. After traveling back home, older and wiser, I decided I wanted a quiet, quaint life, with just a small amount of excitement. So I talked to Lord Ahlgren, asked him for land in this vale, and got a wife and child in the process. I have been very lucky to escape the rigors of our traditions. Most do not go from being the son of the king’s blacksmith to a quiet, rural farmer.”

Hajime’s father looked at him. Hajime stared back, seeing his father, he felt, for the first time. “I wish you would lead a quiet life, my son. I wish you would be rid of the boy you follow so diligently. But you also have the stubbornness of your mother, so I know you will not. All I ask is that you try something new, before you settle with the first wild thing you met.”

Once again, Hajime’s thoughts turn to Sigri. He wasn’t fascinated with her the way he was with Tooru, but he was curious. And she had mentioned magic apples, and curses. Long lost tales of fame whispered in Hajime’s heart.

“Maybe…next year,” Hajime finally answered. “I met someone who said they wanted help. I can see if she is still in need.”

Hajime’s father smiled, not exactly happy, but content. “Whatever you decide is best. Now, let’s talk about the pricing of this wheat, shall we?”

***

As Tooru had predicted, the winter was, indeed, harsher than normal. Luckily, their harvest had yielded better supply and more coin than most years, so not all was lost.

Still, Hajime was relieved when he saw the first budding leaves on the trees in the orchards. “The snow is pretty, but kind of useless,” Tooru said, wrinkling his nose as he sidestepped a large puddle of mud as he and Hajime made their way into town one morning, mid-spring. 

“Sounds like you,” Hajime said, ducking Tooru’s hand as it reached out to smack him. “Snow has its uses. It brings us water that we can use for planting. It allows the foliage time for renewal. And it helps the soil. Its uses may not be obvious, but if there were not snow…” Hajime shrugged. 

Tooru smiled, turning to walk backward down the path so he faced Hajime directly. Tooru shook his head as a gust of wind blew his hair into his face. “Only you would be so happy about the large snowstorms this winter. Well, and me, but I’m different than most people as well. We make quite the pair, yes?”

Hajime watched as Tooru tilted his head, his eyes straying to the breeze before landing back on Hajime. He turned back around, taking his place by Hajime’s side. 

“Do you know much about your father, Tooru?”

Tooru did not answer him. When Hajime turned to look at him, he found Tooru frowning. “Sorry,” Hajime started to say, but Tooru waved his hand to stop Hajime’s apology.

Tooru shrugged, but the way he glanced down at his feet, sidestepping another stretch of mud, told Hajime that the question affected Tooru more than he was going to share with Hajime. “My mother has not divulged anything about him. Truthfully, she has not told me much about herself, either. She told me that when I no longer live with her, she will return home. I think she wants to see me married.”

Once again, Hajime’s skin felt too small when he heard the word _married_. He didn’t know why. He knew, one day, he wanted to be married, and even more importantly he knew he wanted to marry Tooru. He just didn’t want it to be now.

“Maybe you could find him,” Hajime said.

That got Tooru’s attention. He turned a scowl on Hajime. “I am fine here. I like it here! Now, your boots are horrendous, you need to place an order there first, and then we can go to the blacksmith, and then the wheelwright…”

Hajime pressed his lips together, allowing Tooru to change the subject. If only he could find the same determination to stay in one place.

***

Spring warmed to summer, all traces of snow gone except at the very peaks of the tallest mountains surrounding them. For Hajime’s birthday, Tooru had gifted him with a beautiful pair of winter boots. “I think they are my finest yet.”

“They must have been very expensive,” Hajime said in awe, running his fingers across the beautiful, soft leather and fur, tracing the stitched snowflakes, purple, white, and teal, “and taken a lot of time.”

Tooru shrugged. “Only the best for you,” he answered, smiling when Hajime pulled him into a hug. “They should be sturdy enough for traveling long distances.”

A knot twisted in Hajime’s gut. He had not told Tooru, but his restlessness had become almost all-consuming. “Thank you,” he whispered, and he could not stop a small smile when he felt Tooru’s lips on his cheek.

The boots sat in the corner as June ripened to July. As the days grew longer, so did Hajime’s work. Tooru found many excuses to come join him, although there wasn’t much helping being done. “My company should be all you need to keep your morale high,” Tooru reasoned when Hajime asked what good he was. Hajime had rolled his eyes, but he didn’t want to scare Tooru off, so he did not push the issue again.

As Tooru’s birthday came around, Hajime worried about what to gift him, especially since Tooru’s gift to him was so exquisite. The topic came up at the wheelwright’s, no less, as Hajime sat waiting for him to finish a wheel for their cart that had broken unexpectedly.

The wheelwright’s wife had stopped in for lunch, sharing with Hajime at her insistence. They sat watching the wheelwright fit the last of the spokes into the new wheel. “It is hard to have a partner who can make things easily,” she said when Hajime had carefully tiptoed around the subject of Tooru’s birthday. “What I have found, though, is that any gift will suffice, because it is from you and it was thoughtful. Maybe something you find useful that he might not have.”

“I guess,” he murmured, thinking about what that could possibly be. Tooru had made a good life for himself, his dedication yielding good monetary results. Sometimes, Hajime felt self-conscious of the disparity between them, but the one time he had alluded to it, Tooru had grabbed Hajime’s face in his hands. He had said, “Just because people pay me more for what I do does not mean what you do is not important. What would I eat all winter if it were not for you? So I don’t want to hear about it anymore. If you need something, tell me.”

And that had been that. Still, Hajime wanted to do something.

“Something I would find useful,” Hajime murmured. Across the square, the blacksmith’s shop lay, open and unassuming. His father had grown up in a blacksmith’s shop, but he did not have the tools necessary to make anything. And Tooru appreciated pretty, useful things.

“I think I may know what I want to do.”

***

It rained on Tooru’s birthday, which put Tooru in a very good mood; Hajime, less so. 

“You look like a goat left out in the rain too long,” Tooru said when Hajime walked over to Tooru’s house after a long day outside. Tooru reached out to scrub his hand through Hajime’s hair, which he ducked away from, scowling. Tooru grinned.

“Be nice, Tooru,” Tooru’s mother said, her voice breezy. “It is lovely to see you, Hajime.”

“You as well, ma’am.”

The only sure time Hajime saw Tooru’s mother was on Tooru’s birthday, when he came over to celebrate. She and Tooru looked very similar, with the same coloring, delicate facial structure, and lithe body. Even the same hazy look Tooru got when studying the wind echoed in his face whenever she was disengaged from the conversation.

Every year, the three of them ate a meal together, Tooru talking so quickly his words tripped over each other. Hajime did not understand what made Tooru so excited on his birthday, but it had always been so, ever since they were small. 

Maybe it had been the reason Hajime hadn’t left yet.

As the summer lengthened, Hajime’s restlessness did as well. The long days of toiling in the fields helped some, but on the days he did not work, the need to move, to explore, to escape from this small life, pulled on him, as much as Tooru’s sleepwalking used to pull him to magic. Except Hajime did not want to fight it.

But today, he was there to celebrate Tooru.

As usual, after they ate Tooru’s mother disappeared, allowing them time alone. Hajime pulled out his gift, wrapped in a leather cloth. “Be careful,” Hajime warned as Tooru reached his hands out for it.

Tooru nodded, then unwrapped the gift slowly. “Oh,” he whispered, pulling the dagger out of its sheath. The dagger itself was simple, with a smooth black pommel and a thin, finely made blade. The sheath had a design of wind and snow on it.

“I designed it with my father,” Hajime said. “It’s not...fancy, but it is sturdy. I thought it might be useful for you to have. If, you know, you needed protection.”

“You mean, when you are not here,” Tooru said, not looking up from his new dagger. Hajime didn’t answer.

“You want to leave,” Tooru prodded, running his fingers over the smooth pommel of the dagger. “You have wanted to leave for a long time. I am glad you stayed for my birthday.”

Hajime stared down at his hands. He had wanted this day to be perfect for Tooru. Instead, they were now talking of Hajime, and his leaving, no less. “Of course I would stay for something as important as your birthday.”

“You have been very distant,” Tooru sighed. He leaned against Hajime, and Hajime wrapped his arm around Tooru’s shoulders.

“There was...a girl,” Hajime said, and everything he had been holding back since meeting Sigri spilled out. When his story was over, Tooru pulled away from Hajime.

“Why didn’t you tell me about her before?” Tooru asked, his eyes big and hurt. Hajime hated the look. He gathered Tooru back into his arms. Surprisingly, Tooru allowed it. “Was she pretty, Hajime?”

“Not as pretty as you,” he answered. “But I just can’t help but think about her offer. She seemed worried about her kin.” The excuse sounded thin to Hajime, and he braced himself, waiting for Tooru to tear it apart. 

Instead, Tooru placed his palm on Hajime’s cheek, his fingers long enough to find some purchase in Hajime’s hair. It was the first time Tooru had used that particular gesture—usually, it was reserved for Hajime’s use. Hajime’s breath caught. It was very intimate, he realized then, sitting very still as Tooru’s palm pressed slightly into Hajime’s cheekbone. After a moment Tooru’s hand dropped, fingers tracing his jaw, then the strong cords of his neck, stopping when it rested above his heart.

“What a brave adventurer I have come to love.” 

Hajime was sure Tooru could feel the way Hajime’s heart pounded in response to his words. He placed his hand over top of Tooru’s, locking them together on his chest. 

“I will come back to you, Tooru. Nothing would keep me away except death.”

Tooru smiled. “I think you’d come back even in death. You would want to haunt me. I understand, I am pretty irresistible.”

Hajime laughed, the sound cut off as Tooru leaned down and kissed him. “Just, be safe please. That would be the best birthday present.”

“I will,” he said, resting his forehead against Tooru’s. “I love you too.”

Three days later, Hajime left for Briar Ridge.

***

Hajime did not imagine, when he had left home in late July, that he would be gone for more than a year. But when he arrived in Briar Ridge, the magic apples had still been as elusive as they were when Sigri had met Hajime the year previous. Hajime decided to help her find them.

It took a long while. They traveled south, to various castles and Lords claiming to have magical artifacts. They tried a few islands, but nothing came of those either.

Then, they traveled to the edge of the world, and beyond.

Hajime learned that he did not have a love of the sea, but he did not make a bad sailor. He would much rather travel by land, however. It may have been the fact that the edge of the world lay beyond a sea serpent and a storm that wrecked his ship that disillusioned him to a life on the water. 

He discovered a lot about Sigri. She did, in fact, come from a family of seven siblings, all placed under a curse because of her parent’s love. “My father is a Winter Elf, see,” she told him the first night on the ship together. “He does not like to talk about it. Our heritage is kept quiet, especially because we are royalty. The humans are not very happy when elves rule them.” Sigri let out her harsh laugh. “Anyway, my father’s grandmother was unhappy that he decided to live among humans, so she told him that any child he produced with a human would have eighteen years to break their curse, or they would be taken away. And so, here we are, trying to break the last of the seven curses.”

Their ship went down a few weeks after that. When Hajime finally dragged himself to land, he was surprised that he was even still alive and was very grateful that his mother had insisted on him learning to swim at a very young age. Sigri had washed up on shore shortly after him. They were the only survivors.

They found the apples there on that beautiful, deserted island, a mesmerizing silver, irresistible to both Sigri and Hajime. “I don’t even like apples all that much,” Hajime admitted as he bit into one. “My friend, though. They are his favorite.”

“I think you talk about this friend a lot,” Sigri said, leaning back against the tree, staring up at the vacant castle they had also found here beyond the edge of the world. “Tooru, correct? He is the one who made your boots. He is very skilled; they still look freshly made.”

Hajime nodded. Truthfully, whenever he started to get homesick, it was mostly for Tooru. He always wondered how Tooru would react to the new town he ventured into, the arrogant Knights of Dawn that he had suffered a week with. Everything he saw, he wanted to gift to Tooru. “He would love these apples.”

“Even if they gave him horns?” Sigri asked with raised eyebrows. Hajime frowned. She gestured to the top of Hajime’s head.

He reached up, and there were, indeed, growths on the top of his head that could be horns. Looking closer, he saw that Sigri had developed some too. “Damnation,” she swore, then laughed. “Well, guess it doesn’t matter. We are shipwrecked and starving. Who knows if we will make it out of this alive. Let’s eat, shall we? I want to hear more about the love of your life.”

“He is not…” Hajime started to say, but then he swallowed the denial. “He is beautiful, but he’s also petty and in no short supply of vanity...”

And there, as the sun set and they made camp by the trees filled with silver apples, Hajime told Sigri of Tooru. She listened until Hajime had run out of stories to tell, well past sundown. “Well, no wonder you are not interested in marrying any of my siblings or myself. You seem to have found your perfect match.”

Hajime ran his fingers along the smooth skin of the apple in his hand. It reminded him of the ice that formed in the stream on very cold nights. “Yes, I guess I have. And I think, when I get back, I will ask him to marry me. My father warned me not to settle down with the first wild thing I came in contact with, but every other wild thing just makes me miss him more.”

Sigri hummed. “Was that your third or fourth apple?”

Hajime frowned. “Third after the first one.”

“Then perhaps you should stop. Your horns are gone. I have one more to eat, I think.”

Hajime reached up to his head. It felt normal. “I think you should take some back to him,” she said.

Time slid in strange ways on the island, as it did in mystical places. Hajime and Sigri spent a week searching for something to help them off the island. When they finally found a boat, loaded it with magical apples, and returned back to the mainland, the world had blossomed fully into summer. They had missed the spring season entirely.

“Do you want to journey with me to find a whistle that is supposed to call anyone who hears it to the owner?” Sigri asked as they reached Briar Ridge.

Hajime felt restless, a restlessness he knew well by now. “No,” he said. “I think I am ready to go home.”

Sigri smiled. “I thought you might be. I wish you well on your journey. I would come to your wedding, but I am sure I will be stuck in a mountain somewhere. Maybe if I journey to the Golden Forest again I will ask after you.”

“I would like that. Safe travels.” Hajime pulled out his compass. Through everything, it had stayed undamaged. Now, it pointed straight to home. To Tooru.

He could not wait to see him.

***

The little vale seemed very quiet as Hajime entered. He did not usually approach from this side, from south of the Golden Forest instead of through the town center.

This meant, however, that he would pass Tooru’s home first. It would be just time for Tooru to be arriving home. Maybe they would meet on the road. Maybe Hajime would wait at Tooru’s house for him to arrive.

He did not need to worry. Tooru was outside, sitting on a three-legged stool, working on a shoe. Hajime wondered when Tooru had started working outside.

Hajime did not have much time to think about it, because Tooru’s head jerked up as Hajime approached. Tooru glanced around wildly until he spotted Hajime coming down the road. “Hajime!” Hajime laughed as Tooru dropped the shoe he had been holding and ran toward him. He threw his arms around Hajime’s neck, almost knocking both of them into the bushes on the far side of the road.

Hajime relaxed into Tooru’s tight embrace when he was sure they were stable. “Hello, Tooru. I am happy to see you as well.”

“You’ve been gone so long,” Tooru said, his voice breaking in the middle of his sentence. Alarmed, Hajime pulled away, but Tooru seemed to have composed himself. He gave a radiant smile that ended with a joyous laugh. 

Tooru had grown just a little taller than Hajime in the year Hajime had been gone, his hair a little longer, his light freckles etched on his face from the summer sun. Hajime swallowed as he studied Tooru. He had always been pretty, but now he looked so incredibly handsome in his tailored shirt and breeches, his chest fuller, his face shedding the last of its adolescence.

“I told you I would always come back to you,” Hajime said. Tooru nodded, closing the distance between them again. “Why were you working outside?”

Tooru smiled sheepishly, placing a hand on his neck. “Ah, well, you see, I am finished with my apprenticeship, you know, so I work from home now. The cobbler is retiring, and he offered me the store, but I don’t think I want that.” Tooru wrinkled his nose. Hajime laughed. He had missed Tooru’s incessant chatter much more than he thought. “But, anyway, the wind told me there was a traveler coming this way about a week ago. I thought it might be you by the description. I wanted to be the first to greet you! Oh, and the weather is so nice.”

Hajime had no words to express how full his heart was, so he just pulled Tooru back into his arms.

After a few minutes, Tooru finally released Hajime. “Did you bring me anything? You missed my birthday, you know.”

Hajime laughed. “Selfish Tooru, as always. Here, you can look through the bag while I go see my parents. Whatever you do, though, don’t eat the silver apples!”

Tooru’s eyes widened. “Silver apples?! Where?”

“Don’t eat them,” Hajime warned again before turning away, no longer hiding his smile now that Tooru couldn’t see it. He knew Tooru would eat the apples. He couldn’t wait to see what happened.

The path from Tooru’s house to Hajime’s seemed shorter than before. Hajime wondered if it was because he had taken much longer paths in the past few years, or if it was because he was older, his anticipation less immediate than a child’s. Maybe it was because soon, he would ask Tooru to spend the rest of his life with him, and he wouldn’t have to make this trek to see him again.

When Hajime got to his parent’s house, his steps slowed. He took a deep breath, opening the gate to the walkway. He remembered the last time he had done this, after only three days gone, and wondered, once again, if he should knock or if he was still welcome at all, but before he could decide, the door swung open.

“Hajime?” his mother asked. She looked older than she had when Hajime had left, gray taking over her black hair, her wrinkles more deeply etched across her face. But her smile was the same as always, and when she opened her arms Hajime did not hesitate to step into them, the cold fear melting to relief. “Oh, my dear, sweet Hajime, you have returned at last.”

“Sorry it took so long to come back,” Hajime said, kissing her cheek.

His mother just smiled. “I’m just glad you did. Now, come in, rest. You are probably exhausted. Will you invite Tooru for dinner tonight?”

Hajime nodded. His mother laughed softly. “Your feelings about that boy are still plain as the sun at midday.” Hajime felt his cheeks heat up slightly at his transparency. “Are you going to ask for his hand in marriage?”

“I...Would you approve?” Hajime sat down in his usual chair at the table, watching his mother cut into a loaf of bread. He thanked her as she passed half to him, along with some strawberry preserves, which he lathered onto his bread liberally.

“Of course,” she answered. “He may not be my first choice, but I knew ever since you turned thirteen you would follow him to the ends of the earth if he allowed it. He seems just as infatuated with you. And your father will come around, don’t worry about that.”

As usual, his mother seemed to know just what he was thinking. Hajime wasn’t sure how to answer her, so he did not, and she left it alone, moving to other topics. Hajime listened as she talked about people in town, the farm, the life he had missed in the last year. As he fell into the cadence of her gossip, he relaxed. He knew, in a distant sort of way, that he was now alien from this town, these people he had grown up with and cherished and loved, but he didn’t think he minded. It felt like a part of growing up. And he still had Tooru, if nothing else.

Hajime was still sitting at the table when his father opened the door. Hajime held his breath, waiting as his father put his bag on its usual peg near the door and changed out of his work boots, all without looking up from his tasks. His mother gave him a small nod, then turned back to the stove. “Welcome home, dear.”

“Smells good,” his father grunted. Hajime stood slowly, swallowed, waited for his father to notice him. And finally, his usual end-of-day tasks completed, he did. They stood looking at each other for a long moment, Hajime trying to find words, his father staring impassively. “Hello,” Hajime finally stuttered out.

“How was the journey?” his father asked, a small smile finally gracing his face. Hajime’s muscles loosened. He walked over to his father, who held out his hand to shake. Hajime took it, grateful for even that much, but then his father pulled him closer, into an awkward hug they both ended quickly.

“Good,” Hajime answered belatedly.

His father nodded. “Wouldn’t expect anything less from my boy. I am starved. Is dinner almost ready?”

“Another half hour or so. Hajime, why don’t you go fetch Tooru.”

“Haven’t seen that boy in a while,” his father said as he sat heavily at the table. “Summer seems busy for him. Everyone out on their feet, I assume.”

Hajime glanced at his mother, then his father, surprised. “Did Tooru visit while I was away?”

“Of course, dear!” his mother said cheerily. “He has all but taken your place at the table. He brings us these delightful chocolates; he has some very rich customers, you know.”

His father nodded his agreement. Hajime swallowed, suddenly feeling left out of his own family. He wasn’t really upset. If anything, he was relieved at the fact that Tooru had still been accepted into his family without him. It would make telling his father his future plans with Tooru that much easier.

“Now, shoo,” his mother said, flapping her hands at Hajime. Hajime laughed, slipping out the door back down the path to Tooru’s house. He should have figured this would happen. If he had not been so set on seeing Tooru before anyone else, he could have avoided the extra walk, not that he minded much.

Tooru, of course, was waiting for him. “Hajime!” Tooru screeched as he threw the door open. Hajime smirked when Tooru lifted his hands to his head, as if Hajime didn’t already know what he had done. “Hajime, fix me!”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Hajime said, his voice light. Tooru’s pout deepened. With a grin, Hajime took Tooru’s wrists and tugged gently on them until Tooru allowed his arms to fall. The horns sat on the side of his head, small and curved up, a shade darker than his russet hair. It made Tooru look more the wild creature that he was. “Aw, I think they are kind of cute.”

“No they are not, Hajime Iwaizumi, I have _horns_! Make them go away!” 

“Maybe you should have listened when I told you not to eat the silver apple,” Hajime said. “My mother said that she wanted you over for dinner tonight.”

“I cannot go looking like this! I...You told me not to…” Tooru’s eyes were big as he took Hajime’s hands, pulling them close together.

“Take a deep breath,” Hajime said, freeing one hand to place on Tooru’s cheek. Tooru closed his eyes and did as Hajime asked. Tooru turned his head further into Hajime’s touch, and Hajime stroked his thumb along Tooru’s sharp cheekbone.

Tooru finally calmed enough to talk rationally. “You told me not to eat the apple, and I did anyway. I am sorry, Hajime, I’m sorry I did not listen to you, just, please... please give me a second chance. I am not too ugly with the horns, am I? But, I mean, if you do not like them, there has to be a way…”

Hajime moved his hand over so he covered Tooru’s mouth, cutting off his terrified rambling. “Listen, I am sorry too. I should have told you. I knew you would eat one of the apples. I ate them too, and I do not have horns, see? Apples are your favorite fruit—I would have to be a dolt not to know that by now.”

Tooru’s eyes were big and brown, staring wide at him over Hajime’s hand. “And they really are cute, Tooru, but, I mean. You are. Always. I mean, you are always very handsome.”

Hajime took his own advice and breathed deeply to stop his own rambling. Tooru’s eyes had become even wider, if that were possible, pools of dark brown Hajime felt he could stare into forever. He dropped his hand from Tooru’s mouth, to his shoulder. Tooru continued to gaze at him, speechless. “I love you, Tooru. For so long, I cannot even tell you when I began. Probably that first day you told me to go troll hunting with you. And I love every part of you, no matter what happens. I told you that before, and it hasn’t changed.”

Tooru’s eyes had wettened, but when he blinked, no tears fell. Hajime’s heart felt scorching hot in his chest.

“I want to marry you,” Tooru said. Now it was Hajime’s turn to stand silent and still, words escaping him. Tooru’s expression shifted into his very serious one, the one Hajime saw when Tooru was doing his best work. “I know this is not the way we should go about a marriage proposal, that you should speak with my mother, and our families should negotiate. But, I just wanted to tell you. I love you and I want to marry you, so much Hajime. I never gave up hope when you were gone. I knew you would come back to me.”

Hajime still could not find words to answer Tooru, so instead he pulled Tooru tightly to his chest, wrapping his arms around Tooru’s firm back. Tooru tucked his head into Hajime’s shoulder, and when Hajime could get his mouth to move, he whispered, “Yes,” into Tooru’s ear. He felt Tooru’s lips turn up on the skin of his neck. “Grab the remaining apples. You can eat them on the way.”

Tooru’s lips dropped back into a pout as he broke away. Hajime chucked his knuckles against Tooru’s chin, softly. “Listen to me for once, Tooru.”

Tooru huffed, but did as Hajime asked. The apples were small enough for all three to fit into one of Tooru’s hands, so Hajime was not worried that they would fill Tooru. Besides, Tooru could eat his weight in food and still be hungry.

Tooru bit into an apple after wheedling Hajime into telling him about his last year. After a few awkward, halting sentences, Hajime finally fell into his normal rhythm of storytelling with Tooru, him trying to tell an exciting bit and Tooru interrupting him to ask silly questions.

Two apples later, they had reached the gate of Hajime’s family home. Tooru’s horns had grown so they were curved above his head. “But what if I think they suit you?” Hajime asked teasingly when Tooru reached up to feel them.

“You made them grow?! Was this your plan all along? Mean Hajime!”

Hajime leaned over and kissed Tooru. “Just eat the last apple.”

Tooru dramatically took a bite of the last apple. Hajime watched a small drip of juice well up and slide down Tooru’s chin. Without thinking, Hajime swiped it up with his finger. Luckily, his brain caught up with him before he put his finger in his mouth, but Tooru’s smirk told Hajime he had not missed the sentiment.

“You would look so scary with horns no one would come to visit us,” Tooru said as he took a bite that was almost half the apple. “You would be the monster everyone comes into the Forest to slay, but I would be your hero that protects you. Wouldn’t that be something?”

Hajime smiled. He could not help but reach out and tug Tooru close to him. “I think you overestimate my generosity. I am not your hero. I am just terrified that one day I will wake up and you’ll be gone, so I want to do everything I can to make you stay with me.”

Tooru nuzzled his nose in Hajime’s neck. After so long without Tooru’s touch, Hajime felt like a starved man, asking for it whenever possible. “I want to be with you too, so it seems we are fighting for the same thing.”

Tooru’s breath smelled like the sweetness of the apples he had consumed, just like that first day they kissed, so long ago. Hajime reached up and brushed his hand through Tooru’s hair, to make sure the horns were gone, he told himself. But something Tooru had said had struck him. “Tooru, do you still feel like you should be somewhere else? You know, maybe you should see where it takes you...”

“No.” Tooru shook his head emphatically, dislodging Hajime’s hand. “No,” he said, more calmly. “I am not made for cavorting through the wilderness to find a long-lost heritage. My mother is here, my father is who knows where, and I am needed here. Wanted. I don’t want anything else. My place is here and that is final.”

Hajime pressed his lips together, then nodded. This was not his fight, it was Tooru’s, and Tooru had to decide what was best for his life. If Hajime had learned nothing else in this year of adventure, he had learned that as much as you wanted to belong to a person, you did not. You had your own journeys to take, even if they were side-by-side with someone else. He just hoped that Tooru didn’t hurt both of them along the way.

“Your horns are gone,” Hajime said, trying to bring the conversation back to lighter topics.

Tooru gasped, his hands shooting to his hair. “What rude apples.”

Hajime burst out laughing. “Let’s go inside. My parents will be wondering why we have been standing out here for so long, and if we don’t go inside soon they’ll start asking questions. I think I will tell them tonight. About our marriage plans.”

Tooru grasped Hajime’s hand for a moment, squeezing before letting go. Tooru had always been physically affectionate, Hajime realized then. It was amazing what you could learn of someone when separated for a long period of time. “Will it be all right if it is done a little differently than normal? Not...in the church?”

“Of course,” Hajime said. Honestly, he would marry Tooru in the street if it made him happy. “We can discuss the details later.”

Tooru laughed. “You have always rushed into everything as soon as you make up your mind. For this one thing, I am glad. But let’s get through dinner with your family first, shall we?”

“Good plan,” Hajime admitted as he pushed open the door. But there was not any need to fear, because Tooru greeted his parents with open arms, complimenting his mother on her hairstyle and asking his father about work. Hajime sat down, at his mother’s insistence, and smiled, watching the domestic scene. He had loved journeying, but here, watching Tooru laugh at the silly joke his father told as his mother dished their dinner, he knew he was safely home.

***

Hajime was suspicious at the smoothness of his announcement to marry Tooru, especially when it came to his father. “I will have to tell my brother. I expect you will marry Tooru before the winter snow begins? You are not the type to wait until spring arrives.”

Hajime blushed, because his father spoke the truth. He did want to marry Tooru before the year ended, which meant before the winter snow, which only gave them a month to prepare. “We will talk to the priest…”

“Father, we will not be married in the church,” Hajime said. His mother looked away from him, but Hajime still saw the disappointment in his eyes.

“Why not?” his father asked.

Hajime shrugged helplessly. How could he tell him that Tooru had enough unholy blood that being in a church made him ill? How could he tell his father that he would not get married there even if he could, because Tooru would never be accepted, and how could he stand to be told that Tooru was less than perfect?

“I will speak with Lady Oikawa,” Hajime’s mother spoke up. “I am sure we can put together a lovely ceremony for you. We will want three bindings, I am sure, so we should pick the best bindings we can.”

Hajime stared at his mother. So did his father. She straightened her back, set her jaw, daring either of them to question her. Neither one did.

She nodded decisively. “That is what I thought. Now, wash up please, so we can enjoy dinner.”

It became apparent very quickly that Lady Oikawa had thought about this moment before. “I have found an officiant for the binding ceremony. We will do it with white blessed ribbon from my kin. The rings will be sufficient as a binding as well, and can incorporate your beliefs. And for the last binding, we shall make a marriage crown.”

Hajime creased his eyebrows. Tooru nodded, excited. Marriage crowns were common, mostly worn by women but sometimes worn by a man if they so chose, to show the strength of the family they were marrying into, and the purity of the one who wore it. Lady Oikawa smiled. “You will collect the leaves and flowers. Tooru and I will braid them. It is another symbol that crosses our cultures. For you, it would indicate purity which, I am not sure how pure you two have been, but enough that the crown will still bind you.”

Hajime felt his entire face turn red. He did not want to talk about his and Tooru’s purity (which, yes, was still intact) with both of their mothers present. Tooru laughed softly. “You could melt snow on your face,” he whispered to Hajime, his eyes sparkling with amusement. Hajime elbowed him in the side.

“And for your culture?” Hajme asked.

Lady Oikawa smiled. “The gathering and offering of the leaves is a symbol of what you have to give to Tooru. Tooru and I will then construct it into the crown, which is an acceptance of what you have given.”

“These are very intimate bonds,” Hajime’s mother said softly. “They tie you together through this life, and allow you to find each other in the next.”

Lady Oikawa nodded. Hajime glanced over at Tooru, who was biting his lip. “Please remember that at any time, either of you can break the bond if necessary. I sincerely hope that does not happen, but these bonds are flexible. Adding to them, changing them, destroying and rebuilding them, it is all part of life. You will know, when the time comes.”

No one spoke for a long moment. Tooru’s hand crept toward Hajime, squeezing his thigh gently. “I trust Tooru,” Hajime said finally. “And he trusts me. I think these sound like good choices.”

Tooru nodded, his face set into a determined expression. “Well then,” he said, standing up. “We have a little less than a month until the wedding. It will take place on the next full moon. We had best get started.”

***

To Hajime’s immense relief, Tooru took charge of most of the wedding details. “I have talked with your mother,” he said one day as they were sitting at the tailor’s, waiting for their final fitting for their wedding cloaks (with too much fur, in Hajime’s opinion, but Tooru had insisted. “Besides,” he reasoned, “from what the wind has said, it will be cold that day. It might even snow. So we should best be prepared.” Hajime had learned weeks ago to stop trying to argue with Tooru about these things), “and she has taken care of the feast. After this, we will go gather the rest of the crown items.”

Hajime followed Tooru as he fluttered his way through their plans, once again awed by how determined Tooru was when he put his mind to something. As the days drew closer, Hajime found himself more and more relaxed until, two days before the wedding, they had nothing to do.

He had stared at Tooru when he had told him. “Are you sure?” Hajime asked for the fifth time as they made their way into town early that morning.

Tooru nodded. “My crown is done, the cloaks are being delivered today, your mother has stored the last of the food. Your family is arriving into town just in time tomorrow. Even the village has started celebrating us!”

It was true. Weddings were always festive affairs, with ribbons and wreaths made especially for the couple and hung out of businesses and houses alike, but Hajime had not expected so much excitement for him and Tooru. He was not sure why--Tooru was well-liked by most of the town, and Hajime had always been praised as responsible and reliable. Even after coming back from his long adventure, most of the townsfolk just asked him about his favorite part or if he had found any wealth. Walking through town now, it felt as if the harvest festival had come back for a second time. 

“I also have a surprise for you after I am finished here. We will be gone for most of the day tomorrow as well.”

They reached the cobbler’s. Tooru sometimes helped him still, even though his apprenticeship was at an end. Hajime wondered if it was because he liked the comfort of a familiar place in such changing times. He knew that would be his reasoning.

Hajime nodded. Tooru smiled. “Meet me outside of my house then, after you have eaten dinner.”

So Hajime met Tooru that evening, after they were both finished with their work. Tooru smiled and linked arms with him. “So, a surprise, hmm?” Hajime asked. Tooru nodded. “Where is this surprise?”

“The Forest,” Tooru said. Hajime’s heart beat fast. He and Tooru in the Forest. After all of Hajime’s adventuring, he still had yet to pass through. Suddenly, he remembered wishing he could show Tooru the beauty of the golden leaves on fire as the sun went down. He had to force himself to turn his attention back to Tooru as Tooru continued speaking. “I hope you don’t mind. I figured if we could make a trip into town once a month that should be plenty for us to live off of. My shoes make a lot of money, see, and you know all the ways to keep us in food and surviving the winter.”

“Wait a moment,” Hajime interrupted Tooru’s rambling. “Are you saying you want to live in the Golden Forest? When have you ever been to the Forest?”

Tooru shrugged, but he sneaked a glance at Hajime, looking like a child who had been caught stealing sweets from the table. “I...I like the Forest. I have gone a lot since you left, Hajime. But enough about that, you’ll ruin the surprise!”

“I will not ask any more questions,” Hajime answered, but he had so many. Like, what had made Tooru want to go to the Forest in the first place? How far had he gone in? What had he seen? Why hadn’t he told Hajime before?

But they had all the time in the world, now, and if Tooru wanted to keep this secret for another few hours, Hajime could allow that.

Traveling with Tooru was fun. Tooru talked a lot, mostly about the town, mostly about the people who had somehow or another gotten on his bad side. The petty vainness that had always been a part of Tooru had flourished as they grew older, which only endeared Tooru to Hajime more.

“You know, every once in a while, the wind brought news of you,” Tooru said suddenly. 

Hajime glanced over at him. Tooru looked straight ahead, eyes never wavering from the path. “Did it tell you anything good?”

Tooru shrugged. “Nothing that you haven’t told me yourself.”

“It is amazing the wind traveled so far,” Hajime said awkwardly, wondering if Tooru were still upset about Sigri. He didn’t know how to tell Tooru not to be, that even when he had traveled with her, he had only thought of Tooru. But Tooru did not say anything, which most likely meant he had something he wasn’t telling Hajime, so Hajime continued. “Can you...manipulate, what news you receive from the wind?”

Tooru wrinkled his nose. “Not the way you are thinking. But I have learned to suggest to the wind what things I may be interested in learning more about, and they send me back things that they see. It is very fascinating. Not usually very accurate, however. I just need to get better at it, I guess. It’s sometimes easier, in the Golden Forest.”

As if the words had summoned it, the Golden Forest appeared as they crested the hill. It looked the same as before, except this time the grass was still a lush green, since there had only been very small skiffs of snow. The leaves shimmered in the dying light of the sun. “We can make it to my surprise just past nightfall. Come along, Hajime!”

Hajime held his breath as he followed Tooru into the Forest. He didn’t know what he expected; he had entered before on this very path. But now, with no danger or real reason for being here, his skin crawled as if the trees watched their every move. Tooru turned toward Hajime. Hajime stopped abruptly.

“Don’t be nervous,” Tooru said. “You more than most belong here. With both of us together, we do not need to fear untamed magic.”

Hajime nodded, because he did not know how to tell Tooru that it wasn’t just untamed magic he had on his mind, but his untamed feelings as well, and the fact that they were to be married in two days’ time. He did not tell Tooru that he was scared of Tooru himself, an untamed creature who lived a perfect, domestic life. Hajime didn’t know how long it would last until, finally, the call Tooru denied so strongly overtook him. Hajime wondered if their love would overcome it, or if Hajime would be left with a shattered heart. 

“I love you, Hajime,” Tooru said, taking Hajime’s hand, placing it on his cheek. Automatically, Hajime’s thumb stroked the smooth skin underneath it. Hajime smiled when Tooru pressed into the touch as always. Tooru always knew what Hajime was thinking, what to say to make everything better. “We never know what the future holds, but I always have my hope, and my trust. I will always trust you. Even as the year drew on and you didn’t return, I believed in you. I knew that even if it took five or ten or thirty years, you would come back for me if you could. And I hope you trust me, too.”

Hajime stared into Tooru’s wide, earnest eyes. “Your trust is always so strong,” Hajime said. “I hardly feel like I deserve it. You’re the brave one, not I.”

“It is just a different kind of bravery. We both know I have things to confront that I have not. But when I know I have you here to help me,” he shrugged. “It’s grounding.”

Hajime dropped his hand from Tooru’s face. “Thank you. Now, let’s see this surprise.”

Tooru led Hajime through the Forest. Their pace had slowed so Hajime could take in the surroundings as best he could in the darkness. “I’ll show you my favorite places in the morning!” Tooru said. “We are almost there, it is just around this bend. I did not go too far off of the path, but I did want to be far enough that a lone traveler would not disturb us unless absolutely necessary. And...here we are!”

Tooru pulled Hajime through a small clump of trees. Hajime’s jaw dropped as he took in their surroundings, the almost-full moon providing enough light to see clearly.

“You built this yourself?” Hajime asked in awe. Tooru shrugged, but Hajime could see the gleam of happiness in his eyes at Hajime’s admiration. 

“Some of the men in the village helped, of course, but I needed something to do while you were away. And then, when we decided to get married, I was glad that I had. Could you imagine having to wait just because we needed to build a house?”

It was a simple stone cottage, nestled in a copse of trees next to the stream in the Golden Forest that Hajime knew would attract any sort of wanderer. Behind the cottage was enough space for a good-sized garden, and, to the left, a small stable for two horses. “You really did think of everything.”

Hajime was embarrassed to admit that he had never considered where they would live after. Tooru had not mentioned it in all of their planning, so it had slipped Hajime’s mind entirely. 

“I had already made the choice to live here,” Tooru said. “I just hoped you would be part of that decision. I had a feeling you would not mind.”

“Your feeling was correct. You are sure this is okay?”

Tooru frowned. “No one owns the land of this Forest. And, as long as we have good intentions, the Forest will treat us kindly. People live here. They are very few, and they have spanned many eras, but there are always a few who thrive here.”

“Did the wind tell you that?” Hajime asked. Tooru nodded. “Well then. I wouldn’t want all this hard work to go to waste.”

“That’s all you have to say about it? Not, ‘great job, Tooru,’ or ‘it looks beautiful, I never could have done it myself?’”

Hajime pulled Tooru close to him. Reluctantly, Tooru allowed it. “It looks beautiful, Tooru, and I promise it would not have looked this good if I had been in charge.”

“I know,” Tooru sulked.

“Do you want to show me the inside?” Hajime asked, smiling. As predicted, Tooru jumped at the opportunity.

“It is not big, but I figured we wouldn’t need much.” Tooru lit a candle, then offered it to Hajime. He opened the door and Hajime stepped in, looking around. True to Tooru’s words, it was not a large space, but to the right there was an open living space with a beautifully carved wooden chest spanning the length of the wall. There were some expensive-looking cushions sitting on top.

To the left, there was a kitchen area, with a table, two chairs, and some cupboards. “I’m not as good with wood as I am with cloth, but…”

“You _made_ the furniture?” Hajime interrupted.

“Well,” Tooru said, “not the chairs or the cupboards, but the table and the chests and the bed…”

“The bed?” Hajime said.

Tooru laughed. “Mmm, Hajime’s still eager as ever. You can wait one more night I think, but a glimpse wouldn’t hurt.”

Tooru led Hajime toward a door on the far side of the wall, which opened to a bedroom taken up mostly by a chest of drawers and a bed. Hajime caught Tooru’s waist as he passed, pulling him to his side. Tooru leaned down and kissed Hajime’s cheek. “It is ours.”

“Ours,” Hajime repeated. He reached his hand lower, causing Tooru to jump when Hajime’s hand grazed his lower back. “I don’t know if I can wait one more night.”

Tooru laughed, pulling away from Hajime. “I told you! Just a peek. We will sleep on the floor in the other room for a few hours and then make the journey back home. And!”

Tooru went over to the window and unlatched it. “For luck,” he said solemnly, turning back to Hajime. The wind ruffled Tooru’s hair, the moonlight casting a silver halo around him. 

“You are so pretty.”

Hajime frowned when the words came out of Tooru’s mouth. Tooru shrugged. “You always say it to me, so I thought I would beat you this time. You are, you know. In the flame of that candle, your face defined in shadow. It’s lovely.”

Hajime felt his cheeks heating up and he had to look away from Tooru. Tooru came back over, taking the candle from Hajime’s fingers and setting it on the chest of drawers. “I love you, and I cannot wait until we are bonded together.”

“And you are sure you do not want to sleep in the bed tonight?” Hajime asked with a grin. Tooru smacked his arm.

“No! We are going to do this properly, Hajime! Now, get the bedrolls out and I will get the quilts. Tomorrow, we will make sure our house is ready for us, and the next, we will be married!”

***

The day of the wedding dawned bright, cold, and cloudless. It was late in the year for a wedding, but neither Hajime nor Tooru much minded. Hajime only had two families traveling less than a week’s journey for the wedding, and Tooru had no one except his mother.

Hajime woke early, his stomach churning. He would not call it nervousness—it was akin to excitement and longing, the same feeling he had had when he decided to harken the call to find out what the world had to offer, the same one he had felt when he decided to come home. The one he had always felt in some sense when he saw Tooru for the first time every day.

When he walked out of his room, he was surprised to see his father at the table.

“Ah, Hajime, my son,” his father said, gesturing to a chair. Hajime frowned at the meager food on his plate. His father chuckled. “Never fear, you will have enough food tonight. You will not want to be too full for the marriage feast.”

Hajime started into his bread and cheese, self-conscious as he felt his father’s eyes watching him. Their interactions had not been more unusual than any other time, but Hajime still felt awkward, not used to being in anyone’s bad graces. After a few minutes, his plate mostly clean, his father finally spoke. “I wanted you to know that, while I’m not exactly thrilled with your choice, I respect it. I want your happiness, and I trust that you, more than most, know what makes you happy. I do wish you were getting married in the church, though.”

“You know why I can’t,” Hajime said firmly. Tooru had never outright said that he could not go into the hallowed building, but it must make him uncomfortable because why would he admire such a building without at least getting a closer look at it?

His father knew this, so he sighed. “At least you have not lost all sense of tradition. Shall we go to the baths, then?”

Just like that, his day was beginning. Hajime hesitated for a moment, wondering if they were really ready for this, ready for the most permanent change of both his and Tooru’s life.

“If I didn’t think you and Tooru loved each other as much as you do, I would have been much more vocal about my disapproval,” his father said. “Hajime, you are ready.”

Hajime had told himself so many times that his father’s blessing was not the end all to his and Tooru’s happiness, but having it, no matter how reluctant, eased some of Hajime’s worries.

“Let’s go,” Hajime said.

After the cleansing, Hajime found himself draped in his wedding cloak, heavier than usual because of the chill with a thick fur collar. He itched at his neck, unused to so much weight against it.

His mother chuckled. “Hajime, stand still. You cannot fidget the whole ceremony through,” she scolded. He dropped his hands to his sides, forcing himself to stop. He was not usually still, regardless of what he wore, but he could do this for Tooru, if for nothing else.

They were outside, behind the Iwaizumi house, because through that small thicket of trees where Hajime and Tooru played as children, there was a small, ancient ritual site close to the mountain.

“Now,” she said, taking a deep breath. “For the ceremony, it will just be you, Tooru, Lady Oikawa, and the officiator. Do exactly what he says. When you are finished, you two will come back and we will celebrate with the feast…”

Hajime laughed softly then bent down and kissed his mother’s cheek. “It will be all right. No one has ever failed the marriage ceremony, I am sure.”

“And _I_ am sure someone must have at some point,” his mother said then sighed. “I just wish I could see it.”

“We will exchange rings with the priest before the feast. It is just Tooru’s part that is private.”

His mother nodded, wiping at a stray tear. “I know, I am being silly. Now go, before I change my mind.”

Hajime laughed, kissed his mother again, took a deep breath, then walked through the trees to the other side of the clearing. After walking for a few paces, Hajime felt better in his cloak. It was not really anything different than his usual winter traveling clothes, just of finer make, with more fur than he was used to, courtesy of Tooru.

Hajime broke through the treeline into the wild grass that began sloping up the mountain. The ritual site stood to his right, a cleared circle of stones, recently weeded and cleared of the skiffs of snow lingering on the ground. 

“My mother did it,” Tooru’s voice said behind Hajime, making him jump. He whirled around. There Tooru stood, regal as a king in his purple cloak, tailored to perfection. His marriage crown of orange autumn leaves threaded with buttercups and other flowers Hajime couldn’t name sat nestled in his brown locks. It looked so natural, Hajime had to reach out to touch it to make sure Tooru hadn’t grown them overnight. Tooru chuckled softly as Hajime’s hand left his hair, brushing his cheek, then his jaw, before falling back to his side. Tooru looked so handsome Hajime’s heart ached the longer he gazed at him.

“She said she wanted it to look perfect for us. I guess we are both vain, aren’t we?” Tooru let out his chiming laugh, bringing Hajime back to his surroundings. Hajime continued to stare; he couldn’t help himself. After a few moments, Tooru raised his eyebrows. “Well then. Shall we?”

Tooru held out his arm. Hajime took it and, together, they made their way up the stone pathway to the middle of the circle where a wizened old man that Hajime had never seen before stood, his long white beard almost touching the ground. Tooru’s mother stood off to the left, tall and lithe like her son. She had on a simple white dress with bell sleeves and a gold belt, her hair tied in a simple braid, a strange fashion choice for the event and the weather. Hajime smiled at her when she turned her attention to them. She had hardly been a presence in his life; he rarely saw her outside of the handful of times she had answered the door because Tooru could not. But he knew magical parents were strange and usually foreign to their children, so he was thankful to her for being a part of Tooru’s life for so long. She had been their most stalwart advocate while preparing this wedding, and Hajime would forever be in her debt because of it.

Hajime had practiced with Tooru and Tooru’s mother what to say and do during this part, so he knelt down on one knee, head bowed, until he felt the man touch his forehead with his thumb. His cold, rough skin against Hajime’s made him jump, and he heard the man chuckle.

“You are very nervous. Well, as far as I can sense, there is no need. You may rise and face each other.”

The man’s voice was deep, and Hajime felt himself relax, especially when he turned to see Tooru’s face, eager with excitement. Tooru reached out and grasped Hajime’s hand, his smile growing wider. Hajime didn’t know if he had ever seen such an unguarded expression from him before.

“We are here today to solidify the bond between you. Do you have your ribbons?”

Hajime pulled out the white ribbon Tooru had told him to bring. He had tied two loose knots into it at midnight under the light of the moon, as Tooru’s mother had instructed, and was relieved to see that Tooru’s looked identical to his. The officiator nodded. Hajime was used to seeing this done with large, elaborate ropes, and scarves, not the small ribbons that they held. This felt much more intimate. 

“You will take these separate ribbons, and, together, you will make them one unified piece. The two separate knots represent your own life journeys, through childhood and manhood. And now, together, you will create a new knot, tying you together on this path through mortality.”

Tooru offered Hajime the hanging end of his ribbon. Hajime took it, watching as Tooru took Hajime’s. They had tried this a few times, both of them fumbling and giggling but, ultimately, succeeding.

“Stop shaking,” Tooru scolded under his breath, clearing his throat when the officiator gave him a hard look. Hajime pressed his lips together to control his smile.

“If you would continue,” the officiator said. Hajime allowed Tooru to begin. Surprisingly, his fingers wrapped around and beneath Tooru’s effortlessly, as if this were a dance they had learned their whole lives over. Once they had finished the final loop, and Hajime pulled his loose end tight, he felt a strange jolt travel up his arm. He looked at Tooru, whose eyes were wild with surprised excitement. _It worked_ , Hajime thought.

“Now, for your verbal vows. Tooru, do you take Hajime, as your partner in this life, to support him with love through his journey of mortality, to stay by his side unless the bond between you is broken?”

Tooru took a deep breath. “I do.”

“And do you, Hajime, take Tooru as your partner in this life, to support him with love through his journey of mortality, to stay by his side unless the bond between you is broken?”

“I do,” Hajime said. They were the easiest words he had ever uttered.

“You have now created a bond that ties you together, through hardship and peril, happiness and excitement. The trifecta of the marriage crown, the rings, and this ribbon, have proven to the gods that your love is worthy. With myself and the Lady as witnesses, you may now kiss as a newly bonded pair.”

Tooru wasted no time throwing himself at Hajime, pressing their lips together so quickly their teeth bumped. “Settle down,” Hajime laughed softly, tilting Tooru’s head so they could kiss properly.

When they finally broke away, Tooru’s mother had joined them, a radiant smile on her face. She looked more healthy than Hajime had ever seen her.

“Thank you,” Hajime said, taking her hands in his own when she held them out to him.

“Tooru has spoken of this moment for years,” she answered with a small smile. “I am glad he has you. Please take care of him for me.”

“I think he can take care of himself very well,” Hajime said. “But of course, I will do my best.”

Tooru’s mother nodded, releasing Hajime. She turned to Tooru. Hajime stepped outside of the small ritual site to give them some privacy, glancing around to see if he could catch their wedding officiator, but he had disappeared.

When he turned back to Tooru, he was also alone. He watched as Tooru wiped at his eyes. Hajime reentered the ritual site. “Are you all right?” Hajime asked softly, placing his hands on Tooru’s shoulders.

Tooru smiled. Hajime wondered if he had imagined the tears; his cheeks and eyes were dry. “Yes, of course! I can’t believe...this is just…”

“We’re married,” Hajime finished in awe, trying to make the sound more real.

Tooru laughed, throwing his head back, exposing his long neck. His crown stayed nestled in his hair. “We’re married!” Tooru repeated Hajime’s words. “Just the rings left! And the wedding feast! Did your mother make that yummy cinnamon cake?”

“Of course; she knows that is your favorite.”

Tooru looped his arm in Hajime’s. Together, they made their way back through the thicket of trees they had traipsed through for so many years together. This was probably the last time they would be here. The realization made Hajime falter.

Tooru looked over at him, raising his eyebrows in question. “It’s just...with this beginning. Other things are ending.”

Tooru looked around their surroundings. The sun had begun its downward descent, casting long shadows from the trees around them. Their breath clouded in front of them as the day cooled. “It is hard to change when you do not need to. But it is like winter, right? You taught me that. It could be summer all the time, but the plants need the snow, even if it is cold and dangerous. Sometimes, we have to change. But now, we get to change together!”

Hajime blinked. “When did you get so smart?”

Tooru’s serene expression fell into a pout. “I’ve always been smart! You’re the brute!”

Before Tooru could say anything else, Hajime leaned over and kissed him. The wind picked up, brushing Tooru’s long hair into Hajime’s face. When they broke away, Hajime tucked Tooru’s stray lock of hair behind his ear. “I can’t wait to start this new life with you.”

Tooru’s cheeks, already dusted pink from the chill in the air, darkened to a pretty red. “We should continue to our feast.”

The rest of the walk was quiet. As they got close to the town center, people appeared, throwing flowers and grain into the street. Tooru laughed, waving at their neighbors and friends as they passed. By the time they arrived at the Lord’s Hall, quite a decent parade had formed behind them.

Hajime’s mother waited at the door for them. “Come in, come in!” she said merrily. “I take it the ceremony went successfully?”

“Hajime only dropped the string once,” Tooru said solemnly.

Hajime hit Tooru’s arm as his mother gasped in horror. “I did not! It was perfect, Mother, don’t listen to him.”

“Is that any way to treat your husband on your wedding day?” Tooru asked with an exaggerated pout.

Hajime’s mother laughed. “You two are the same as ever. Now, come in, come in. We will sit everybody down, you can exchange your rings, and then the revelry can begin!”

Hajime followed his mother as she ushered them inside. In the front of the room stood a high table, two chairs in the center clearly for Hajime and Tooru. There were other tables set around the room, leaving a modestly sized open area in the middle, for toasting and whatever entertainment the village had provided.

The priest Hajime had grown up with stood in front of the head table. Hajime’s mother ushered them toward him, then hurried herself to her spot at the head table. Others in the village settled themselves as well, in chairs or against the wall to watch the ring exchange. Suddenly, Hajime was very grateful that the intimacy of their vows and bond-making had happened in a secluded mountain pasture.

The priest glanced between Tooru and Hajime as the crowd began to quiet. Hajime felt Tooru’s grip on his hand tighten ever so slightly as the priest’s gaze lingered on him. He thought it must be hard, being Tooru, knowing that he was a spectacle to most of the town, trying to be as normal as possible. Hajime squeezed Tooru’s hand back before dropping it. With Hajime, Tooru had nothing to fear. And all the townsfolk seemed to love Tooru, or were at least curious enough to want to watch him married off. Hajime did not delude himself into thinking that all these people were here for him.

“Please, turn to face each other,” the priest said, gesturing between them. Hajime and Tooru turned, once again face-to-face.

When the room had finally settled, the priest drew himself up to his full, imposing height. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Hajime Iwaizumi and Tooru Oikawa. While the wedding has been a little...out of the ordinary, we support your choice to bond in the ways of our ancestors.”

Hajime gritted his teeth. Tooru raised an eyebrow, his eyes gleaming with mischief instead of offense. “These rings are continual, unbreakable circles. With the exchange of the rings, you are strengthening the vows you have made to one another of love and commitment. Hajime, if you would.”

Hajime took his ring for Tooru from the priest, then slipped it onto the fourth finger of Tooru’s left hand. It was a simple silver band with a few threads of copper woven in that reminded Hajime of Tooru’s hair. It fit perfectly. “I love you,” Hajime said. “And I will follow you wherever you want me to.”

Tooru smiled softly. Hajime had never been good with words, but right then, it didn’t much matter, because he could see that Tooru knew everything he had not said.

“Tooru,” the priest prompted. Hajime watched as Tooru’s long fingers deftly picked up his ring, a dark metal with a few runes inlaid on the inside of the band.

“You have always been my rock. The place that I could turn to whenever I needed help. We have known each other for a very long time, but this is the beginning of an adventure that I would not want to take with anyone other than you.”

“And now, for the feast,” the priest announced. Tooru threw his arms around Hajime’s neck and Hajime kissed him as the crowd around them cheered.

When they broke away, Hajime saw his mother wipe at the corners of her eyes. He himself wanted to cry, because he did not know what else to do with all of these emotions inside of him.

Before his emotions could decide how they wanted to manifest, Hajime heard Tooru’s stomach growl. “Everyone told me I couldn’t eat today. I’m starving!” Tooru defended himself, gripping onto his stomach.

Hajime threw his head back and laughed. “Well then,” he said, gesturing Tooru to the table. “Shall we?”

The rest of the evening was spent in a blur of food, ale, and cheers. At one point, Hajime and Tooru opened wedding gifts that Hajime’s parents promised to store until they could collect them the next day.

“Where is your mother?” Hajime asked toward the end of the night, having just realized he had not seen her at all since the mountain ceremony.

“Ah, she left,” Tooru said, tilting his glass of ale back and forth, studying it as if it were the most fascinating thing to happen today. “She left me instructions, if I ever needed her to visit.”

Hajime wrapped Tooru in his arms. When they had sat down to eat, he and Tooru had shed their heavy cloaks, and it was much easier to move now. Tooru tucked his head into Hajime’s chest for a few moments before pulling away. “Now, I think we should start saying our farewells. We have quite the travel to our new home. They can celebrate without us. I think we deserve a celebration of our own.”

Hajime did not need any more persuasion than that.

“Let us walk you out,” Hajime’s father said, standing. Hajime reclasped his cloak, once again itching at the heavy collar. Tooru giggled. Hajime sent him a glare.

“Now Tooru,” Hajime’s mother said as they exited the hall to one more round of applause. “Your mother told us to give you a final present.”

Hajime gasped as his father led out two horses, one pure white, the other pure black. They were beautiful, and just by a glance Hajime could tell they were of a fine breed, probably very expensive. Tooru’s hand was trembling as he reached out to stroke the neck of the black horse, who nickered softly at him.

“I can’t believe you’re all grown up,” Hajime’s mother said, once again tearing up. Hajime looked down awkwardly, clearing his throat, trying to keep his own emotions under control. “I love you. And Tooru. Visit every once in a while.”

“Of course,” Hajime said. “I will still work with Father during the busy seasons.”

His mother nodded, kissing his cheek. When he turned, his father also held out his arms for an embrace.

“I feel more at ease, now that you have gone and experienced a little bit that the world has to offer you,” his father said quietly, so only he could hear. “But remember, wild creatures are not content for long. There is a reason why everything you did today was binding.”

Hajime bit his lip, glancing at where Tooru was kissing his mother’s cheek. He said something that made her laugh, and Hajime’s heart expanded. “I know. But he is worth the risk.”

His father nodded. Tooru and Hajime mounted their horses, waving farewell to Hajime’s parents as they rode out of the village.

“This could not have been a better day,” Tooru said as they left the main village proper, the cobbled streets giving way to dirt paths. “I am so happy, Hajime!”

“I am too,” Hajime said. “Now, to celebrate together.”

“Race you!” Tooru yelled, urging his horse into a gallop.

“No fair,” Hajime shouted but spurred his horse after him. He watched Tooru’s purple cape stream out behind him as he bent low to the horse’s black neck. The sight made Hajime breathless at the beauty of it. He could imagine the concentration on Tooru’s face, eyes calculating, mouth thin as his mind focused solely on winning.

Hajime lost. Tooru pulled his mount up as they reached the gate to their house, already swinging off of his horse and ushering him through the gate when Hajime pulled to a stop. “Poor Hajime, so slow, no wonder it took you a whole year to get back.”

“Oh hush. You cheated and you know it.” Hajime shivered in the cold air. His face felt numb from the rushing wind, and when he glanced over at Tooru, he noticed his cheeks were rosy red. He could see Tooru’s breath cloud in front of him as he got to work unsaddling his horse.

It was a strange, domestic feeling, doing chores side-by-side with Tooru. It wasn’t like they had not experienced this before, but knowing this was their first task as a married couple felt different.

“We will have to go get grain for them tomorrow,” Hajime said. “I was not expecting to have horses for a while.”

“We have to go collect the rest of our belongings as well,” Tooru answered. “And...And decide what to do with my mother’s house.”

Hajime reached over, grasping Tooru’s shoulder. “We will do it together.”

Once the horses were taken care of, Hajime linked his hand with Tooru’s. Tooru squeezed it. “Come on, let’s go in,” he said. Hajime allowed Tooru to tug him to the front door. They stood there side-by-side for a moment on the doorstep before Tooru reached out to press open the door.

“Ready?” he asked.

“I’ve been ready for years,” Hajime said, and, together, they both stepped into their cottage.

It looked the same as it had the night before. Hajime walked over to the table and lit a candle, then proceeded to light the candles in the bedroom as well while Tooru dug around in the cupboards for something or another.

When Hajime came back out of the bedroom, he found Tooru standing in the middle of the room, head tilted up to the ceiling. In the soft candlelight he looked young, eyes bright with wonder. Hajime walked over to him slowly.

“This is our home,” Tooru whispered when Hajime finally reached him. He wrapped his arms around Hajime’s neck. Hajime reciprocated by pulling him closer. He felt Tooru’s body trembling under his hands. Excited, nervous, all the same feelings Hajime had bundled inside of him. He ran a hand over Tooru’s cheekbone, his hand weaving itself into Tooru’s hair. Even with their race, Tooru’s crown had stayed in place.

“Our home,” Hajime repeated. “And you built it.” 

Tooru laughed softly, then dipped his head down to kiss Hajime. The magic haze of the day lingered around them, making this kiss feel like their first one, years ago in that copse of trees behind Hajime’s house. Hajime was fascinated with the way Tooru changed from season to season, and this Tooru, autumnal with his russet hair and fading freckles, wearing a crown of buttercups and fallen leaves, was so handsome it made Hajime’s breath falter.

When they broke away, Tooru sighed. Hajime felt Tooru’s hands roam across his shoulders, down his arms until Hajime dropped them from around Tooru’s waist. Tooru took Hajime’s hands, raised them to his lips and kissed them softly.

“Shall we proceed with the rest of our evening?” Tooru asked with a grin, no longer shaking. Without speaking, Hajime removed the crown from Tooru’s head, placing it on the table to take care of tomorrow. He unclasped Tooru’s cape, shrugged out of his own. Tooru pulled Hajime by his wrist into their sparse bedroom, then whirled around to kiss him again.

The room was chilly. Tooru had left the window open overnight, Hajime remembered distantly, for luck. Hajime fell back onto the bed, Tooru straddling his legs, hands winding into his hair, the warmth of his body deliciously sweet against Hajime. Hajime gripped onto Tooru’s hips, arching his neck up to meet Tooru’s lips with his own. A gust of wind blew through the room, making Hajime shiver without the heavy wedding cloak he had worn all day.

“It smells like snow,” Tooru whispered to Hajime, as if reading his thoughts. Hajime blinked, his mind still fractured, focusing on Tooru’s face, but Tooru looked away, toward the open window. He swallowed, and Hajime kissed his neck.

“This is our happily ever after,” Tooru announced, but his eyes were still locked on the open window. Hajime dug his thumbs into Tooru’s stomach just slightly, just enough to remind him of where they were. Tooru’s head jerked back, eyes wide and lips pressed thin. When he spoke again, his words were determined, as if commanding fate to listen. “This is where I want to be. I love you, Hajime Iwaizumi, and I will never be happier than I am when I am by your side. No matter what happens.”

Hajime nodded. Another gust of wind blew through the room, and Hajime knew they should close the window, but Tooru pushed his hands hard on Hajime’s shoulders. Taken by surprise, Hajime tumbled to his back on the bed, and even as the wind picked up Tooru’s attention never strayed from Hajime.

This _was_ their happily ever after, Hajime thought later, woken up by the light of the full moon streaming into his face. He could have sworn he saw a few snowflakes drift onto the windowsill, but when he stood to close the window, all traces of them were gone, the sky cloudless. He thought he heard tinny laughter on the wind, but instead of investigating, he secured the window, then turned to look at Tooru sprawled in their newly minted wedding bed. His heart clenched at how much he wanted this, forever.

Wherever Tooru went, Hajime would follow. And yes, this was the happily ever after at the end of the story of their childhood, but Hajime was excited for the start of their new tale.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! As always, comments/kudos welcome! 
> 
> Also, I now have a [twitter](https://twitter.com/pensmidnight), if you want to check it out.


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